Scars in the Mirror
by MeridianPine
Summary: Welcome to a world where Kaori Miyazono survived her surgery, but was left with an ugly reminder of her illness... Romance, travel, and performance ensue! Tune in to 'Scars in the Mirror' for a story full of connections, illusions, and adventure.
1. The Mirror

Welcome to the newest _Your Lie in April_ fanfiction!

My name is MeridianPine, and myself, along with my beta, Kenz, are about to start spinning a tale of what might have happened if Kaori survived her surgery and recovered!

Romance, travel, and performance await! An epic of grand proportions!

No copyright infringement meant! We don't own these characters!

Get ready for the first chapter of _Scars in the Mirror_!

 **Chapter One: Prologue**

She opened her door, padding in softly. She still didn't have this whole "walking thing" down yet. Kaori Miyazono had thought her days were numbered after the pacemaker was put in. What on earth could be further from the truth? As she stood in front of her mirror, on some day two months after her surgery, she only had one thing on her mind.

She was naked. Steam filled her room from the adjacent shower, billowing in and almost clouding her vision. Her shower had almost calmed her down. Unfortunately for her, as she stood there, transfixed in the worst way on that mirror, the ugly reminder of her surgery stared back at her.

They were three gnarled lines down between and across her breasts. The stitches were still in. Red, angry tissue surrounding the cross-hatching across the lines made them hard to look at. But of course, they were hard to look at. **She hated them.**

Even though her body was perfect otherwise, and she was a greatly beautiful girl, she had nothing positive to say about her looks anymore.

Because as she traced the lines in the mirror, she was screaming on the inside.

"How can he even look at me anymore?" she said, wringing her hair, still wet to the touch.

He was Arima Kousei, the boy she was in love with. Totally head-over-heels in love with. The boy with the handsome face covered by dorky glasses. Arima Kousei, the best junior pianist in all of Japan. Arima Kousei, the boy who gave her a reason to get up every morning for physical rehab. Arima Kousei, the boy that her parents loved to have over for dinner. And Arima Kousei, her boyfriend, the one that she was about to try and talk to for the first time in a week.

"Let's see," she whispered, picking up her phone, which had been laying on her nightstand, and going through her contacts.

 ***Buzz***

" _Ah_!" she cried out, almost dropping her phone onto the grey shag carpet. It was a text from Kousei. " _What a coincidence,"_ she thought. She rocked back and forth, toes sinking into her carpet, not knowing what to say to his text.

She didn't know how to tell him she hadn't practiced violin for months.

"He'll be so disappointed," she whimpered, starting to cry. She didn't have the heart to tell him she couldn't hold her arms up to her chest, much less hold her violin, yet. Her tears poured out, the drops falling on the phone's screen.

She had told a second lie, in their second April of knowing each other.

"Yes, I'm ready to play again."

His text? "Come over and practice with me instead of being all by yourself! Stop being so selfish! I want to see you!"

Pov change: Kousei's POV

"I haven't seen her in a week. The least she could do is come over and play with me. She said that she was ready to start playing two weeks ago…" Kousei said to no one in particular, annoyed, to say the least.

He was in his piano room. He was sitting with his back to one of the old music shelves, his phone plugged into the outlet next to the shelf. He had been sitting there for an hour, carefully writing out a text to Kao-chan. But she hadn't even read it yet, and he didn't know what else to expect.

She'd been mostly ignoring him for the two weeks prior, when they had a short conversation on the phone. It had been April 2nd. She had told him that she was so excited because she had finally been able to pick up her violin. She had said that her other arm wasn't steady enough to play anything yet, but was getting there. But ever since then, she'd only text him to say good morning and then chicken out of saying anything for the rest of the day.

If she thought that ignoring him after putting him through all that pain and fear was okay, he'd show her exactly what she meant to him. "She wouldn't ignore me if she was okay," he thought out loud, knowing exactly what to do.

It was thundering outside. He was in deep thought, even as she opened his message on the other side of town. He saw that she'd opened his text. She didn't even start to type. She wasn't answering again.

If she wouldn't come to him, he would go to her! Even though it was raining, he looked at his shoes, and made a decision. A decision that would set the course for the greatest adventure of his life.

He decided to give her what she deserved, and nothing less. " _And Kaori,"_ he thought, " _Don't you dare think that you're somehow going to get me to leave you alone._ "

He got on his shoes, walked downstairs, out the door, into the stormy weather, and started running. " _I'd better get there quick_ ," he thought to himself, " _her parents might think I'm a weirdo if I show up too late_."

His foot splashed into a puddle in the road outside her house. The run had taken him thirty minutes, and he stopped in front of the bakery, under the awning, trying to catch his breath. He wondered if she would even let him in. He was bent over in front of the door, about to look up, when it opened.

She was there. Kaori Miyazono, the most beautiful girl in the world he knew. Her hair was damp and straight, a reminder of her illness, since passed. She was simply radiant, her frame backlit by the counter's lights. And even though he couldn't see her face stretched into a smile, he knew that it was.

"Hello, Kousei. Come in." Her voice sounded strained. Moving into the light, he could see that she _was_ smiling. But something far more troubling caught his eye. She had been crying, evident by her puffy eyes.

He was frozen, for a moment. But then, if you'd asked Kaori later, she'd have told you that something in his eyes changed. He didn't know what else to do. He crossed the threshold, and wrapped his arms around her.

Her surprise was palpable in the air, a balm that covered the both of them for an instant, and then disappeared as she hugged him back. Her eyes softened in expression. And at the same time, entirely on accident, they said three words almost entirely in unison.

"I love you," He whispered into her ear, determination in his voice

"I love-" Kaori cut herself off, the words getting caught in her throat as she was buried under the weight of her own emotion.

They said nothing else. There was silence, broken only by the soft words spoken by the rain and the fierce shouts of thunder.

They didn't have even the slightest inkling of what the following years would bring them. They were 15 and 14. Neither had a clue of what love was, aside from what they felt for each other. And neither of them knew the extent of the love story the future was spread out into in front of them, waiting patiently for them to find it.

All they could do was stand in the doorway of the bakery, looking into each other's eyes, afraid and excited for the words that would come next.

Kaori's mouth moved, the scars in the mirror forgotten. For now, at least. Kaori's mouth started to form a word. And that's where the first scene of a grand epic ends.

Author's notes:

Please review if you liked it! This is my first fanfiction that I've actually decided to publish, so please bear with me if it's a little rough or not fully fleshed out…


	2. Rough Patches in the Past

Authors Note: There will be several timeskips in this fanfiction. One of them has occurred between the first and second chapters. It was April the 16th, 2014. Now, it is March 31st, 2016. Almost two years later.

Thank you to anyone that reads or enjoys this!

 **Chapter Two: The Rough Patches of the Past**

It had all seemed so silly to Kousei. It had been two years since they'd confessed, and he could count the number of dates they had on two hands. She had always had a lot of fun, since those dates were often her only time off from work or away from schoolwork.

She was Kaori Miyazono, the apple of his eye. Kaori Miyazono, who Ms. Hiroko liked to see around the house. Kaori Miyazono, the daughter of the bakers that lived on the other side of town. Kaori, the weird violinist. But more than all of that, she was Kaori, his girlfriend. Well, sort of.

"A weird violinist, huh?" He thought to himself, "I suppose I should get going over there. She'll be so pissed if I miss our first date in months."

He had understood when her parents hadn't felt right about her coming over to his house alone. That's a natural thing for a new relationship. Of course, after they had been dating a while, their fears had been stifled. Kousei was an outstanding guy. But even if her parents loved Kousei, Kaori had been having issues. He himself didn't know what. She had made him come over to her house, right up until the move. He had never really minded. The bakery was a nice place to sit and enjoy her in all her beauty.

But on his bike on the ten-minute ride to her house, he was going to find out. As he rode by the convenience store where she now worked, he considered the events of the last year. They had both gotten summer jobs that stuck as part-time jobs year-round. He worked in a ramen shop, and Kaori in a convenience store. He worked weekends with long hours, and Kaori worked afterschool most days with four or five-hour shifts.

"What a dilemma that caused," he whispered to himself, one corner of his mouth upturning. She'd been so angry when she learned about his schedule that she asked him to quit. But the only reason he'd gotten the job was because Ms. Hiroko knew the owner and spoke fondly of "Arima-kun." Kaori had been so mad that even his offer of canelés was turned down, and the door had been slammed in his face.

Hopefully the new door wouldn't be slammed in his face as often. They went to the same music high school. They'd both been accepted readily after the waves they'd made in the musical community of Japan. They had both gotten transfers from their jobs at home. And living in the countryside had done wonders for her health. She had gone from shaky at walking and weak, to golden-haired and robust. She was, in a way, more vigorous than she had been before. She wasn't athletic by any means.

"Neither of us are athletic anyway. Not that it even matters," Kousei whispered into the wind forcing its way passed his face. He had gotten a bit healthier through his biking to and from work, but that was about the extent of his athleticism. But Kaori was a different story. She had kept her gym schedule on the weekend while he worked, even after she finished her physical therapy.

Their schedules were still the same, and Kousei could tell that even after years of living that schedule, Kaori still hated it. And even as he pulled up to her apartment, he didn't know what to expect from her. When she was happy, she was the most spectacularly joyous person he knew. But in a bad mood, sixteen-year-old Kaori Miyazono was a menace in a category all her own.

And then he heard it. Jalousie 'Tango Tzigane', by Jacob Gade. She was weaving a melody full of chords and force one moment, and then in another moment letting the pauses do the work for her, going entirely spiccato, the ricochet bowing filling the air with resonant plucks. He just stood and listened. He never interrupted her playing, because she never played when she knew he was around. As the song entered its temperamental D minor melody, he swayed. He felt the full weight of her music. It pressed darkly on him. She understood this music, and her interpretation of it was reaching him through her open window. She understood what it meant to be jealous in the best way, and what it meant to be jealous in the worst way, like how she'd been jealous of Tsubaki. And even as the song switched to D major and grew more magnificent, that crispy undertone of jealousy was still there. It then grew from something fueled by envy into something fueled and nurtured by love, swelling to a crescendo before going into a furious solo cadenza of her own design. It started tremulously, the tremolo growing in force and wideness, before heading into a major run, which transitioned into minor and descending, into Locrian for chordal triplets ascending, and ended in a Lydian run down. Then she went up a run in eighths, the chords striking him. The spaces between the notes decreased as the run went up, before finally stopping on one top note. A powerful dominant chord ended the cadenza. Her playing turned rubato, and two notes, a chromatic half-step apart, were played, before going back into the major second theme. It grew more lilting, and the volume increased. She ended the song on a non-traditional chord for the piece; an F-major triad chord of F-A-C, which was also the III chord of D minor, the key the song's first section was in. She always did something different than what was traditional. Generally, you'd end on a chord that belonged to the section's key. But not for Kaori. She liked to do things differently when it came to her music. If Kaori was anything when it came to music, it wasn't traditional.

He finally got off his bike, putting the helmet he'd been holding for the past minutes down, and sat it on the seat of his bike, and locked his bike around a "No parking on Thursday" sign, making sure that his bike lock was secure by jiggling it after it clicked shut. He didn't know what sort of mood went into a performance like that, but he hoped in earnest that she would come out of it feeling refreshed.

"I wonder what sort of mood she'll be in today," he said to no one in particular. It was a plain apartment complex, basically a house split in two for two different people to live in. And as he walked around the side from where he parked his bike, he looked at the quiet meadow behind the complex. It wasn't large, but it was spacious enough for the complexes' veranda, which was painted white and had fallen into disuse with Kaori as its owner. Meant to be a social place, Kaori didn't have too many friends to have over. So it wasn't used, even though it was a beautiful place for a picnic, in his opinion. He'd once tried to do just that on one of their dates, but she had wanted to watch a movie inside. The complex was painted in a beige color, and had two driveways, one on either side of the building. He quietly appreciated her magnolias out front; she'd always been so proud of those damn flowers. The garden out front was small, and right in front of the porch. There was a side door, but she hated when he used it.

He was at her door when he noticed a flyer stuck in the door, which he held in his left hand while he knocked with his right. He quickly heard footsteps from inside. They slowly got louder until finally he heard the deadbolt go back, the door open inwards, to show the sweaty Kaori Miyazono. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap top, red-striped, with cute pajama shorts on bottom. Her golden-blonde hair was down, and the sweat dripped down her annoyed face. A drop dripped off a stray curl, and her face contorted into a different sort of expression.

She raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "I thought you worked today and couldn't make it," she said, almost too haughtily for her voice. There was a lot of accusation in that voice that he'd have to explain for. He thought to himself, _"perhaps she'll be in a better mood now that I'm here."_

"Yeah. I did. I skipped work today."

She was flabbergasted. He'd not skipped work since before the move. He always considered his job too important these days. His job as a manager for the ramen shop meant that if he was skiving off, the store would remain closed until the second manager of the day showed up. And **he** would be pissed.

"But don't you need to run the store today?" She asked, not able to believe what he'd said in the slightest.

"Nope," he said, moving in to embrace her sweatiness. He whispered in her ear, "How about we move inside and act like we know each other?" He said this as he tucked the flyer into her pocket, to be forgotten about until later. They pulled apart, and Kaori was now smiling coyly.

"I mean, I don't mind. But you might. The AC isn't working again, so you'll have to deal with that. You don't mind so long as you get to see me, right?" She said, moving back. He took off his shoes in the public space and walked in softly after her. He met her in the kitchen, where she got them both popsicles.

They sat down next to each other at her cute little island, each perched on a bar-stool. The countertop was a speckled gray granite. As he ate his popsicle, he looked around. He saw her dishes needed done (Lazy Kaori), but not too badly. He saw that her entire kitchen had been cleaned recently, and he smiled to himself. She only cleaned like that before he came over.

She had been silent for long enough, looking at him stare around her freshly cleaned kitchen. "So are you going to continue looking at my amazing cleaning job, or are you going to look at me? Or god forbid maybe talk to me?"

He watched her as she tucked that little piece of hair back behind her ear, and she didn't see him blush. "So. Cute!"he thought out loud. She had still been looking down at her holey socks, but then showed a knowing smile. She was entirely relaxed in his presence. But things hadn't always been so happy. She hadn't always been happy with him.

"Movie?" She suggested, happy to be done with her cleaning and practicing for the day. Jalousie was an intense song, even for her. And just being able to relax with her Kousei was a surprising, if not unwelcome, contrast to that. As for Kousei, he was more than happy to take off his jacket, open up a few windows, and sit with his sweaty, but admittedly happy, girlfriend.

The movie started. A normal rom-com, Kaori's favorite genre of movie. An acquired taste, to be sure. He only put up with them for her, really. He was thinking about how she played earlier. She was totally ready to start playing with him again. She had been saying that they couldn't play together for months. But then he had to open his mouth. "You sounded amazing today, when do I get to play that with you?" At her disbelieving look, he assured her, "No! Really! You sounded better today than you did when we first played together! I want to play it with you!"

She wasn't happy that he'd been listening in on her. Not at all. But she also wasn't surprised. Kousei had always loved to hear her play, after the surgery. He was always so encouraging, when it came to her playing. "You always did love hearing me play, didn't you, Kousei?" Oh how she longed to play with him again. But what if she wasn't as good as he thought she was, and she messed up? What if her savings dried up from lost shifts at work? _"You know what? It doesn't matter. This boy is worth my everything, and nothing less."_ She was on the verge of making a decision that would change their relationship dynamic as she knew it. She was going to play with him again. For better or for worse, Kaori and Kousei would take the stage again, despite it having been more than two years since the last time either had been on a stage at all. They would take on the national competition and win.

He had waited for a moment to say anything, since her statement seemed to be more to herself than to him directly. "Of course, I want to hear you play. What sort of accompanist would I be without a violinist that could keep up?" He paused for a moment, allowing her to mull that over. "You always encouraged me, so why wouldn't I support you when you were losing the heart in your playing?"

Her eyes widened. "So this is just paying me back for what I did for you? Not out of love? Not for us?"

His eyes widened too. "No. Love is everything in what I do for you. Even my own practicing, I do for you. Its like you said, Kaori. 'Who will you play for?' I don't think I ever answered that question, but I'll answer it now. I play for you, Kaori. If you forgot, I did say 'I love you.' And that hasn't changed." This was his second confession. The first one had been simple, and this one was more complex in more ways. His first confession had been emotional because she had almost died. This confession was also about that same set of emotions. But it was more out of gratefulness that she was still his, and that gratefulness was steeped in his love for her, like how a strong tea is steeped for several minutes.

She knew what to say. But after so many years, would he even want to anymore? "Kousei, do you want to play with me again? In front of those adoring crowds, do you want to make them feel the weight of our music again?" And anyone would be able to tell what he said. He said yes.

And she didn't even think about those scars for a month afterward, she was so happy.

She was fine with the fact that she hadn't always been happy with him. Only time would tell what would happen to the two of them and their relationship. How could she not be happy, when he was with her? After all, there was love to be found, even in the rough patches of the past. Even as the scars in the mirror remained. But the stitches were gone, and she was getting more confident every day. They were just scars on a girl that was turning into a woman who would be able to say "I love you" without fear. And that is just the beginning of our tale.

Authors Notes: Please review! I need feedback! I have no clue whether this is good or not. Sorry if that sounds desperate for approval, but that's because I am (xD)

Until next time, this is **MeridianPine** , signing off!


	3. The Letter

Author's note: This is chapter 2.5, The Letter

It's a flashback scene to the day after they first confessed at the threshold of the bakery doors.

And as the title implies, this chapter will add some more connection to the canon ending.

They stood by the train tracks. They were being bathed by the evening sun. Her hair wasn't golden and curly anymore, rather slack and blonde. But she looked absolutely radiant. He was still nervous about talking to her. "I didn't expect you to confess yesterday," Kaori said, cutting herself off before she could say anything more.

"I understand that much. I didn't expect you to confess either." Kousei didn't know where this conversation was going, but it felt right, so he kept talking. "Is there anything you'd like to say again, Ms. Weird Violinist?"

She turned to face him. "Actually, I have something that I think you should have. I wrote this for you when I thought I was going to die." She produced an envelope from the inside pocket of her jacket with a flourish.

He fell silent. She extended her arm, the letter swaying through the breeze and empty space between them. He took it from her. By the time he was almost done reading it out loud, they were both crying.

He read some of the final words. "I love you. I love you. I love you." He sobbed out somehow.

"I know," she said, laughing through her own tears.

"Don't be a smartass," he whispered, still crying, "of course I love you. You gave this world color for me. You helped me learn how to love. It just so happens that I love you." He embraced her. She embraced back. He leaned back out of the embrace, and leaned back in.

They kissed.

The sun was still bathing them in golden light, as they stood in their own private paradise. And when they pulled away, love was in the air.

"You loved me for so long. I'm sorry that you had to lie to find me. I'll never let you go!" His eyes on her, he yelled for the whole world to hear, his devotion ringing through the air. The letter had given their relationship further reason to exist.

She smiled.

The black cat scurried between them.

"But I got to meet you, and here we are. And don't worry. We'll be together, whether our lives are hard or not. We define our destinies, Kousei. My existence is one-half me, and one-half you. We are one." Kaori's blue eyes gleamed in the late evening sun.

Kousei didn't know how to feel aside from elation. It had been a long time since he'd felt this loved, and this wanted.

" _She's the one_ ," he thought.

" _He's the one_ ," she thought.

In unison:

"I'm never letting go of you."

They embraced, as the sun finally started to set.

Their time was short.

"I don't want to stop hugging you," Kousei had said. Her blouse had been so soft, and she had been so soft. Warm. Alive. There with him. And he had felt in that moment more grateful than he could express.

"That's okay. There'll be other times. Right, you're not going to leave me alone like I almost left you and died during your performance?" Her eyes had been so downcast, clearly ashamed.

The background had faded into a gorgeously red sunset. The streetlights hadn't turned on quite yet. "Should we get going, then?" His arms were still wrapped around her shoulders.

As the red light around them dimmed, he could see that she was still crying.

And that's where his memory dimmed, too.

Kousei woke with a start. It took him a few moments to compose himself quietly. She was right there. " _Oh yeah. We live together now_." He looked at his phone. She just yesterday had agreed to play together for another competition. Kousei, remembering that, can't help but be reminded of his favorite opera.

 _"Sing once again with me, our strange duet, my power over you—_

 _Grows stronger yet."_

They would perform again.

Their song would ring on forever.

And his jealousy was appeased, that day.

Her lie in April had faded into a bittersweet memory, replaced only by his heart, full of love.

And as he laid in bed with her, her wavy locks on his chest, he couldn't help but remember one of his oldest memories.

He had just finished a competition, and a little blonde-haired girl was standing with one of his rivals, Igawa Emi. He had turned around to look at them. And then a photo flash went off.

"That memory makes much more sense now, I suppose."

This was whispered entirely to himself.

And then he fell into the strange grasp of delirious dreams.


	4. To a new life!

Author's note: This chapter is two years after the last chapter, on March 5th, 2018.

"Hon! Where's the stained glass piece from last January?" Kaori was packing lazily. Her house was filled with full boxes.

"Just found it in your room, hanging up, where you left it." Her other half, Kousei, entered the room, handing her the 6''x6'' piece of stained glass she loved so much. It had a violin and a piano on it. That's what she said, at least. To him, it looked like there might be a violin. But a piano? He couldn't see it.

He had rolled his eyes at her as he handed it to her. "Smartass," she said quietly, with no real malice in her voice.

"You want to pack up your cello and viola while I finish down here?" Kousei said inquiringly, hoping to get all this done so they could finally get out of the complex. He'd been there every day helping to pack for an entire week, and they still weren't done. They both got so distracted around each other. Yelling upstairs, he said "And I heard that!"

Upstairs, Kaori smirked a little. "Of course, you can hear me whispering. You had to be able to hear me whispering when I was weak and dying." That memory in and of itself sobered her cheeriness a little. She'd almost left him all alone. She frowned and took a moment to compose herself. She was tearing up, and her face had contorted into one of despair. "Kaori, you're better than this." She braced herself emotionally and wiped her eyes. She forced on a smile. That didn't matter anymore. That was the past. They were together now, for better or worse. She had to be strong for him.

Speaking of him, he was downstairs, actually getting work done, unlike his girlfriend. He wasn't packing, however. He was preparing lunch, after retrieving the required dishes from his own car earlier. Her favorite, at least out of what dishes he knew how make. A chicken salad, with raspberry vinaigrette. He hadn't made it in a few weeks. But that wasn't the real surprise. He had also gone out to their new Volkswagen beetle, and retrieved the promise ring he'd bought for her. It was a small opal with a ring that had the most beautiful patina. He knew she'd love it, but would she want to commit to him? He thought so, but he couldn't be sure.

"He's probably getting stuff done, you dork. Let's get you two put away, then," She said to herself. She might not be the strongest woman in the world, and her growth was nowhere near stunted, so she thought, "I can handle the cello. I can do it." And she was able to handle the cello. The case just fell over. "Oh shoot!" she exclaimed, afraid for her largest child, because they were like her children. They cost just as much in upkeep, after all.

She opened the case to discover her E string had snapped, because she had forgotten to un-tense the strings earlier. "No! Why the E string! Heck!" She was mad at herself now. That would be a pain to replace. Seething, she un-tensed the rest of the strings, and put it back in its case. She turned her attention to the viola next, untensing the strings.

Downstairs, Kousei heard all this noise. He just chose to let her handle it and calm down. What he heard sounded like a mix between a cat fight and a jackhammer. "Nope," he started to say out loud, " _I'm not even going to entertain that idea. She can calm herself down_ ," he finished, thinking inside his head.

He had finished chopping the lettuce—only half a head, as neither of them ever ate much. He added spinach, chopped beets, vinaigrette, and set it aside. He walked to the fridge, and pulled out two small chicken breasts, which he readily chopped and seasoned with poultry seasoning. He oiled his pan and took a moment for the pan to heat up. "I wonder if she's feeling any better," he wondered pensively. The cat noises had since ceased. "She's actually packing up. I'm a little proud." He smirked, his facial expression changing from the blankness it had contained just a moment prior. His pan was hot enough now.

It was as he said. She was indeed packing. They had wanted to get her out of her apartment today. And it seemed like that was going to happen, and that made her feel both retrospective and happy. "I mean, I never really enjoyed living here, and while it was never home, per se, we made so many memories here. They weren't always happy, true, but I was with him enough that living here and going to the same school as him was worth every discomfort." She spoke this mostly to herself. "Damn it, I'm monologuing." Smells were filling the air as she became aware of what her other half was doing. "He's cooking! How dare he cook without me," she said, half-emphatically, and half-jokingly. "I'll let him cook, I guess." Enjoying the smells in the air, the crisp garlic, the softer scent of the chicken and the oil, she smiled. And she went back to packing.

He was almost done, the sweat on his face from the hot oils heating the air, sliding down like tears toward the ground. He plated the salads, the sharpness of the vinaigrette striking him. Kaori had probably smelled lunch by now. "I'll go tell her its time, then," he spoke softly, entirely to himself. He walked to the door to the upstairs, where, upon sliding it across, he was met with the sight of her. She was wearing some khakis and a long-sleeve shirt with a black fabric he couldn't quite identify. Probably something expensive. "Gosh, how do always manage to look so perfect?" His devotion was evident, even through his eyes.

She wasn't taken aback or surprised by him saying this. Every time he examined her closely, he'd say something like that. She did blush, because she'd tried to look nice today, unlike most other days, where she'd just get dressed and get complimented.

"You don't need to say that every time you see me, Kousei. I know I look good. I try and look my best for you. Especially when you're nice enough to make lunch," she said, in a saucy fashion. Before he could respond, she leant in and kissed her boyfriend, before half-rushing to the kitchen for lunch.

"I swear, whatever it is with you and food, I'll never figure it out. It's almost like you prefer my cooking over my company." He said the last bit mostly in a joking way. Mostly. He still had a very important question to ask her today, and his nerves were stretched just a touch too thin for his preference. He followed her to the kitchen, where he had everything in place, aside from the ring, which was in his pocket.

She was already seated when he got to the kitchen. He gulped. " _She's gonna say yes, you idiot_ ," he thought, trying to calm himself down. He sat down next to her at her island. She turned to face him. She was so close, she could probably hear his heartbeat. Now that he looked closer, she really was done up. "That's why she insisted on keeping her make-up bag with her," he thought to himself. And she was even wearing foundation, which she didn't need. _"It's almost as though she knew today was important..."_

While her other half was ruminating over something that was clearly bothering him, Kaori was eating. She had been pretty hungry, after all. She saw his eyes harden with what... determination? " _Oh. Well I better finish chewing this, he's gonna say something important_ ," she thought, chewing rapidly as his mouth began to open. His hand reached into his pocket, and her heart fluttered.

 _A butterfly flew_

 _And so did the two of us_

 _To spend it with you_

"Kaori, I want to spend my life with you, and only you. Will you commit your heart to mine? Will you commit to marrying me?"

Her eyes widened, and then softened in an affectionate smile.

"Yes. A thousand times, yes."

*Later*

He was finishing loading up with Kaori when he got a call. "Babe, I'll be right back," Kousei stated hurriedly. "Okay...?" Kaori was indifferent. It's not like the call was important, was it? Kousei rushed back inside to find it was from the bank. The call he'd been waiting for!

He picked up with a *bloop!*

The door opened, and he came rushing out, excitement in his eyes.

"Kaori! Our house purchase was approved! It's move-in ready!" Kousei, to say the least, was excited.

She didn't know what to do other than smile. Their home in Sendai would have at least a few hours' worth of memories tonight. And that made her so happy.

She just hugged him until her arms gave out, and he obviously hugged back.

 ***Later that week, Thursday evening***

Kousei shook Kaori.

"I'm so comfortable. I don't want to move." Kousei had just made the best beef wellington she'd ever had, and if she wasn't so cozy where she was, snuggling on the couch, she might invite him to shower with her. But as it stood, she didn't even want to move her body an inch, much less stand up.

"Hey. It's already 10:15. I've got to be up early tomorrow for work. I know that I don't really have to work anymore, but it's a matter of principle. So, let's get to bed."

Kaori raised an eyebrow, her eyes still closed. "What do you mean you don't have to work anymore?"

"I mean our savings put together, along with competition winnings, is 79,800,000 yen. Our parents were paying for our college and lodgings until now. So, all the money we've made is still there. The two of us working full time for four years accumulated. And then on top of that was 4,000,000 from the three contests we won across the span of those years, which also went mostly unspent. And that's after tax."

She still opened one eye. "That's great, but what does that have to do with me moving?"

"Kaori, we're almost millionaires by American standards. We could travel the world! Do whatever we want! I mean short of getting you a Stradivari or other Cremona violin, we can pursue our dreams!"

"Okay? And? Unless I'm getting in the shower with you, love, I'm not moving from this spot." Kaori dreamily said, barely speaking up.

Taking a gamble, Kousei said; "Even if I do the dishes tomorrow?"

There were a lot of dishes to do, so Kaori had to think about that one; "…I'm listening."

"So, it's a deal? I do the dishes, and you get up and come to bed?" Kousei suddenly whispered in her ear, breath tickling her neck.

Kaori burst out in laughter, and then whispered back; "Hon, you keep reminding me of why I love you and you might get _more than you bargained for later_."

Kousei's back had shivers run its length. "I'm not sure whether to be excited or afraid."

" _Correct answer_. Now, let's get going. We have a lot to talk about, regarding that money. I've always wanted to travel…" Kaori said, an excited grin forming on her face.

*the next morning, 10 am*

They were sitting at the kitchen table.

Breakfast was two ham and cheese omelets, only two eggs each. Kousei had added a garnish of scallions, and while they weren't necessary, he knew that she liked them. The pan steamed as he rinsed it off. So there they were. Their house was still full of boxes, and while it wouldn't be plain for much longer, it was now. The walls were an off-white with a light blue accent wall, at least in the kitchen. There was no seating at all in the new kitchen. Instead, a kotatsu to sit down on the ground with was in their living room. Its built-in heater would come in helpful when the cold months came.

Kaori finished looking around at the plain surroundings, and looked at her partner. Gosh, he was handsome. She was so lucky to have him. Star pianist, her weird accompanist, the man who helped get her motivated to play violin again.

"Have I told you yet today that I love you? Because if not, I love you." She was stunned out of her reverie by the same subject that she had been thinking of.

She smiled in a shy, but not meek, way. "And I you, Kousei. And I you."

There was a brief pause in conversation as they ate, looking into each other's eyes.

Once again, Kousei broke the silence.

"So, I found something you might like to see in one of your jackets. A flyer for an international competition dedicated to Carl Nielsen. In Denmark! We could register today and leave in two months for the competition. _They accept duets._ What do you say, huh?"

Kaori pondered this for a moment. "What's the set piece?"

"No required piece."

There was a longer pause as she seemingly tried to remember something.

"Remember when I played Jalousie? That's a Danish piece." Kaori said, jogging Kousei's memory. "I said later that maybe one day we'd play it together. Now's a reason and a chance to show off the effort it'll take." Kousei had really got her thinking. "Even though we haven't performed together on stage in years, you think we still have that old fire?" She suggested, eyebrows raised in nigh-disbelief.

Kousei didn't miss a beat this time. "If you aren't the most passionate woman and performer I know, I'll eat a sock."

"So, that's it?" Kaori was surprised. He wasn't afraid to perform anymore?

"Yup. I'm not afraid to perform if I'm performing with you, Kaori. Piano isn't my passion anymore, though." He said, eyes directed downward.

"Eh? Then what is your passion?" She asked, hesitantly.

He uttered several words that made her break out into a smile.

"You, dummy. Who else gave my world color?"


	5. The Connection

_The Connection_

They had just had sex for the first time. Both were laying in a fitful sleep. Their home in Sendai was silent. He awoke with a start. He saw the now-familiar surroundings of their small home.

Kousei sat up. It was two in the morning. "Not a proper time to be awake, and I don't want to wake her, so I guess I'll get up and do something."

He walked to his living room.

Except, something was off, in the most right way that he could describe.

"What… is going on?" He was confused.

His heartbeat was being partially overlapped by another. He felt her heartbeat. From clear across the house.

"Is this a dream?", he said, as his world slowly faded away, leaving only the brilliant blue sky of his mind.

Except, he was still clearly awake. He could feel his feet on the ground. He could feel the AC on his skin. But looking in the direction of his bedroom, he could see through the walls, and there was Kaori.

And between them, a thread stretched out through space and time.

A connection… to Kaori?

No. Not Kaori. The fiery being, suddenly too bright to look at, which had taken her place. The outline of it still matched her, but it was as if someone had taken a sun and forced it into a human shape. There were three vertical lines on the chest. Her scars. He saw it get up and walk out of the bedroom. And it moved towards him sluggishly, almost hesitant. He moved towards it.

He was broken out of his reverie by it being replaced once again by Kaori as she entered the room, and the sky disappeared.

He was back to normal. Well, almost. He still felt her heartbeat, but it was more subtle.

If he focused on her heartbeat, it became loud enough to resonate fully throughout his mind.

In unison:

"Did...you see that?"

"Oh good. I'm not crazy. What do you think that was?" Kaori was a little spooked out. Kousei had woken her, glowing like a star 30 feet away.

"I think I saw your soul, Kaori."

Struck dumb, she felt disquieted. She knew somehow that it was true, because his heartbeat still echoed throughout the confines of her mind.

Going out on a limb, Kaori responded in kind. "I think I saw yours, too. It was like a star was standing thirty feet away."

"Your scars showed through the light. Do they still bother you that much?" Kousei was worried. She hadn't talked about the surgery in a long time. Three years ago, nearly to the day. She had told him after they first confessed, before he went home. She'd said that she felt ugly because of her scars, and that had made him feel even more in love with her. She needed his love, and his love swelled to match her need.

His love had always done that, swelling and deflating based on what she needed.

So it wasn't really a surprise that they were connected in a way that surpassed the physical.

He felt the thread, now, suspended between them as they stood feet apart, on either sides of the kotatsu.

He wanted to speak. "I need to say something, anything."

She spoke up.

"Then speak."

At almost the same time, their eyes widened.

They had no clue what they had just gotten themselves into.

And they didn't particularly care, at the moment. Kaori wasn't going back to bed. She was wide awake, and she wanted breakfast.

"I don't know whether to ask him to make it or not. I don't know if he'll want me back in bed, or-" She was cut off by the sound of her partner.

"I know you want to eat. I'm not going back to bed either. But the scones are going to take a couple hours."

She turned to face him, as she had been walking towards the kitchen, thinking entirely to herself. It had happened again.

It was becoming clear. They instinctively knew what the other was thinking.

"Okay. I'll be working on getting you a score that matches mine for Tango Tzigane. Go make us food, oh mighty chef, Kousei!"

She walked out. He heard the computer turn on.

And he didn't want to disappoint her, so he'd better get started.

A muffled "I know," resounded from the other room.

He needed to get these strange occurrences off his mind, for now. And cooking might just help.

Entering his realm, the kitchen, he sought out his ingredients, finding them readily.

Flour? Check.

One grade-A egg? Check.

Sugar? Check.

And finally, the skim milk and heavy cream? Also check.

He preheated the oven to 225 degrees celsius.

He greased his baking sheet, making sure to coat it evenly.

He sifted two cups of flour, and set it aside.

He started sweating as the oven began to heat the room.

He retrieved his trusty mixing bowl, cracking in the egg and adding the skim and heavy cream, before starting to whip his mixture.

Kousei carefully measured out a cup of sugar.

He whipped this into his mix.

The flour was quickly added and stirred in thoroughly.

He dusted his countertop with flour. He grabbed the dough like he had grabbed her last night, having been forced to carry her to bed.

It wasn't as weighty as she was.

"Hey!" exploded from the other room.

He kneaded it all the same, even as Kaori pouted in the other room, butthurt.

"Hey. It's not like its even your size. Stop your pouting." He directed this in her general direction, down through the thread. She resumed her search for a score.

He cut out the scones and placed evenly them on the sheet, putting them in for the required time.

By the time they were done, the sun had begun rising below their horizon. Dawn was coming.

He felt her in the other room. Hungry. Thinking about him. Frustrated because she couldn't find a matching piano score when she knew she had seen one on the site in years previous.

He sent a jolt of love through the thread, experimenting with the complexity of emotions he could send through it.

He was rewarded with her emotions changing to those of content and a quiet storminess, a long shot away from the outright irritation of moments before.

He soon realized why when she responded in kind, and it felt like concentrated sunlight passing through him, filling his soul with warmth.

The thread had thickened a little. Maybe their love had strengthened their bond physically as well as figuratively?

*Ding*

His egg timer went off. It was time for breakfast.

She shut off the computer, excited. She'd just ordered his score, after an hour of shuffling through scores on the site.

His thoughts were those of satisfaction, and of her. "The scones must be done," she whispered to herself, dragging herself out of her chair and walking herself to the kitchen.

He plated two up for her, and two for himself. He pulled out the clotted cream, and added some to a container, which he then walked over to the kotatsu.

Kaori walked in sluggishly. She was clearly tired, but he felt how happy she was through the thread.

The teapot whistled, signalling that it was done.

He pulled out her oolong tea and the tea ball, packing it about half-way full. He filled the pitcher with the water, and put in the tea ball, making sure the chain hung over the side.

She sat, cross-legged, on the cushion her side of the kotatsu, back to the back window. He faced her, stting in a very similar way, but on a small stool that used to be his mother's.

They spoke about menial things while they ate. But eventually, the connection found its way into the conversation.

"How do you think this happened?" Kousei said, pointing at the almost-invisible thread, which became more visible as it was referenced, showing its nigh-sentience.

"Well we did physically connect for the first time last night. Maybe our souls were in contact long enough that part of them stuck together?" Kaori wagered almost to herself.

Kousei was confused. Kaori could even feel it through their link. "But then you'd see this with married couples all the time. And I've never heard of a soul connection before. Sounds like some sort of old myth or legend."

"Perhaps, we're the first soulmates to ever meet?"

The thread in between them thrummed, resonating between the two of them. It seemed to agree with that statement.

"I think that solves that. I suppose we are suited to each other, then." Kousei's emotions were wavering between joy and surprise. Kaori's were just happy as she thought to herself; "Of course it would be something like that."

Kousei reached out and touched her, thinking on a whim. The thread started to fill their minds with happiness, as though rewarding the two of them for merely touching.

"If we're truly meant to be, I guess that makes sense. Whatever it is that controls souls is happy that two of the children have finally found their intended opposite."

He pulled his hand away as the cord connecting them pulsed, showing its agreement.

It really was sentient.

How would it affect their music?

They didn't yet know the extent that it would. But rest assured, it would change their performances forever.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to the two reviewers!

Especially Je t'aime Saku, who left two! I'm grateful for anyone who reads this, though.

A question comes to mind. Has my plot diverged too far from the original? I suppose that is for the reader to decide.

Please do review if you have any feedback, positive or not! It would be a big help for a new guy like me!


	6. The Angel's Feather

Author's note: It has been several weeks since the last chapter. It is now May 5th.

It was a dull day outside their shared home. Today, all their outside spaces would go unused. The front porch, the back patio, and their small fire pit would all go entirely unused. The couple was practicing with fervor.

It was just seventeen days until their competition. They had their tickets. They were filed away, along with their newly-gotten passports.

Their practice room was about the size of the old music room. But this room was full of boxes and shelves of music. Aside from the music, there was a grand piano, a piano bench, and a music stand for Kaori. It wasn't the coziest room in the house, but they made do through the early spring mornings.

It was painted an interesting shade of blue-grey, courtesy of Kaori, who had thought the previous lime-green the room had been in was hideous. She had Kousei paint it, so she didn't have to.

They were currently practicing, but both of their minds were far away, on a doctor's visit they'd had about a week prior.

*Doctor's Office*

"Sir, this is not going to be pleasant news for them!" Their doctor said, after receiving the analysis of Kaori's scans. He was separated from them by a door and thought they couldn't hear him.

"I know it won't be good news. But they need to know." Another unknown voice spoke up, apparently their doctor's boss.

Kousei's eyes widened with fear. So did Kaori's.

A torrent of panic rushed from her side of the link.

He held her hand tighter. They sat side by side, in the chairs up against the same wall as the door to the office. The bond was working to suppress her fear, but it wasn't working.

Their doctor entered from the door directly across from them.

His face was shaded grimly. Kousei's panic rose to a fever pitch, and he stood, letting go of her hand.

"What were the results?!" He was so afraid for her, it was driving him mad.

The doctor looked up, and for the first time, the two of them could see the sadness on his face.

"Her lifespan is going to be shorter than average. By about thirty percent. Her condition did a lot of damage to her heart. Unless there's a significant advancement made in the field of heart medicine, I estimate she'll only live until the age of sixty…"

The 'at most' was implicit in that statement.

It felt like Kousei had been sucker-punched.

Kaori's side of the bond slowly changed to acceptance. Sad acceptance.

"Kousei's side of the bond is getting… cold," Kaori thought, reaching out to him, and embracing him from behind.

"Hon, calm down."

At their embrace, something odd happened.

The doctor later would describe the moment of embrace. "It was like a halo of light surrounded the two of them."

The coldness dissipated. And they were finally synced. Because in that moment, they understood each other exactly.

*Back to the morning of the fifth*

Kousei stopped playing, his left hand coming off the chord and not striking the next. Kaori was startled out of her remembering.

She was crying again, a lone tear sliding down her cheek. He reached out to her. His hand gently gripped hers. At their touch, their bond filled with warmth. She sat her violin in its case, and put its bow down next to it. She sat down next to him on the piano bench, her eyes exhausted.

He put his forehead up against hers, looking into her eyes.

"I love you so damn much. I'm never letting you go."

She sent her own love through their connection, before replying in kind.

"I love you too, Arima Kousei. That's why I'm willing to wait to be Arima Kaori. I would much rather just get engaged already. When is that going to happen?"

His side of the bond went silent. He was obviously trying to hide something.

Elation was written on her face when she figured it out; "he does have plans!"

He felt it through his side of the thread. Sunlight was rushing into him, warmth pressing against him from all sides. She really had him figured out.

Since they had synced, it had been hard to hide the ring, since she almost always knew what he was thinking about. Mostly her, really. Ever since that day in April, when he saw her in the park near Towa Hall, she had been a person of interest in his mind. He'd been in love with her for a long time, and she knew that. She returned that love with ever more fervor.

And he was so grateful that she hadn't left him behind. He was trying not to let her heart problems get him down, and it was hard not to think about.

Even so, he couldn't help for thinking; "That is a long time away." And Kaori, knowing exactly what he was feeling as he was ruminating next to her, only gripped his hand all the tighter.

*the next day, around 5pm*

Music filled the surrounding neighborhood.

Their favorite neighbor smiled to himself; "They're at it again, huh?"

They were practicing again. Kaori hadn't really felt up to practicing earlier, so the two of them had settled in for a lazy afternoon, and then started practice at around 4 o'clock.

This would be the last time today that they would play together unless he wanted to play Chopin for her in the late evening.

They locked on to the connection they shared. Kousei played the first upward arpeggiation, leading her for just a moment, similar to the beginning of Vittorio Monti's Czardas. He played a loud series of chords, and then started to fade away.

She waited on him to fall silent. He did. She started the melody in D minor, playing with delicacy and grace. She finished the first phrase. The two of them let out an intense string of three chords.

The second phrase was a sequence of the first, and she played this one with slightly more fervor. He played quiet chords underneath her playing, framing it perfectly.

She then played a loud chord, not exactly following the score. She followed it with another. And another. "Normal for her," Kousei thought to himself, as she then returned to the score's intentions, going into a run of crushed notes and trills, finally resolving into the tonic.

And with further glance at each other, they both counted in their heads, entirely in unison, synced through the bond: "One! Two! Three- "

Four. Then the space of a quarter of a heartbeat.

They started the song in earnest. They painted a scene, for their audience to be.

The room around them shifted to their desires, and they were in a grand ball room, surrounded by dancers. All but two people were entirely out of focus. A young man, looking on through the crowd, gazed at the other person in focus. A young woman. The object of his desires.

The people danced around Kaori and Kousei as they weaved a melody made of desire and youthful want.

As the two of them continued to play, the young man strode up to the young lady, asking her for the dance. She was by herself, and really had no reason to say no. But as they moved into the B-theme, she did turn him down, turning to another man, and taking him by the arm.

And the b-theme began, as the young man's jealousy started to take over.

Kaori's violin was the swaying of the young woman as he watched her dance.

Kousei's steady chords were the constant building of tension in the young man's heart.

It built. And built. And built, until he couldn't stand it. He walked out of the concert hall, and the attention stayed on him, as Kaori and Kousei were playing on the pavilion outside, the music following him. And as the piece changed to D Major, the illusion around them ended. The scene around them compressed back into the thread that extended between them.

It all disappeared.

Kaori had lost her focus on the bond.

Kousei didn't know what had gone wrong, and errantly thought, "I wonder what made her lose control like that? She's usually—" The bond completely cut him off, and showed him exactly what he wanted to see. What was bothering her.

He saw her heart meds. The message "Must be taken daily." He saw her scars, dark pink against the mellow tone of her skin.

He saw the operating table where she'd almost died. He felt her memories of physical inadequacy, trying to get into shape. He saw the time when the largest scar ripped open, and she had to be taken back to Totsuhara hospital, where she almost bled out. He saw the stitches from that operation, as she stared at them in the mirror.

And as she saw all of this, too, she started to faint.

He felt it through the bond, and barely caught her.

*several hours have passed*

She was in bed, their soft sheets laid on top of her. A damp cloth and small bucket of water laid by her bedside.

Her forehead was damp. Maybe Kousei had been watching over until recently. A small nudge through their bond indicated that yes, he had been watching over her, and that he would be right back.

She laid back in bed, exhausted. "I wonder what he's doing?"

Tea.

The word echoed around her head.

That was the first time either of them had gotten any words through the bond.

She sat up, and waited quietly.

After a few minutes, she felt him start to walk towards her side of the house.

She didn't feel amazing.

"I really am glad to have him, especially at times like this."

Another nudge through the bond seemed to say, "I know."

It was the most simple of things, and the most complex of them at the same time.

It was love. With them, it always was.

 _Their own sacrifice_

 _Harkens back to a time when_

 _Two angels once flew._

As the words resonated through her mind, seemingly out of nowhere, something caught her eye. A feather on her nightstand. It quickly dissolved into dust, the particles catching the light as they flew away on a breeze no one would ever feel.

"What?" Kaori was taken aback.

Footsteps were audible from down the hallway. Kousei was coming with tea.

He was in the room within seconds, the tray delicately balanced. He came around to her side of the bed, and set her mug down on her bed table.

He sat on the stool that was next to the bucket and rag.

"This reminds me of when I visited you at Totsuhara. You were sick as a dog then, though. You aren't even running a fever, now." He was wearing a concerned smile, and definitely being careful with his words.

She picked up on this, annoyed. "You don't have to be so cautious, you dummy! Am I or am I not the woman you want to spend your life with?" She cuffed him on the arm, but there was little strength behind it.

This brought his attention back to her sickness. "Drink your tea. Then we're getting you into the shower, and you're bathing, whether you like it or not." He was gonna help her get better, whether she liked his methods or not.

"I know I overdrew on the bond during the illusion, Kousei. But you could just come out and say that's why you're mad. I'll get better at it, anyway." She was right to the point.

And she was even right on the point in his eyes. They'd only been able to activate the illusion in the past two weeks, and it was seemingly the sum of their collective imaginations made real through their music. That's why their respective focuses couldn't waver even slightly, or the whole thing would fall apart.

Kousei compared it to pressing against her back while she pressed against his, each with knees bent, each pushing against each other to stay standing. If either of their concentrations wavered, they'd fall over.

Kaori likened it more to a staring contest, where they had to focus on more than just the eyes. They had to focus on everything perfectly and couldn't blink at all, or else the illusions would just… stop.

As the lead musician, Kaori drove the illusions, and had already fallen ill like this once before. Just like now, she had overdrawn on their bond, and this lead to her becoming distracted by her own exhaustion, and then getting sick after the illusion fell apart.

She had since finished her tea. Like her, Kousei had been deep in thought ever since she had started drinking. She said to him, not altogether delicately; "Hey. Indecisive. Gullible. Twit. Help me up. So you can help me get better, like you want."

The bit from her letter caught him off guard. He chuckled a bit, before stating; "Can't you stand?"

"Of course. Watch me." She then struggled to stay upright. Clearly her body was still exhausted from her overdrawing. "Actually," she said, leaning on him, "apparently not. Shall we get going?"

He helped her out of her nightgown. He was trying not to make this moment sexual, but some of it slipped through the bond.

She snickered at his discomfort. "Don't be such a dork hun," she said as she turned to face him, "feel free to stare."

Two sinks lined the wall opposite the shower, and the tub was to the west wall of the bathroom.

He managed to pull his eyes away from her, and helped her hobble to the shower. He took off his shirt, so it didn't get wet if he needed to help her while she was in there. She didn't bother closing the curtain. "Because if I need catching, you'd best catch me."

He got the gist through the thread.

And she took her sweet time, too. She kept at least one hand on one of the safety rails at all times. That left her with only one hand to wash up. So she ended up taking about five minutes washing her hair. And then another two just washing her body.

And she was suddenly done, turning off the water. The tension in the air dissipated for Kousei as the bond recognized the danger of her slipping was passed. He helped her out saying; "Well you took your time, now didn't you?"

"Why yes I did, Friend B. Or should I say, B friend?"

Kousei felt part of himself shrivel up with that one.

"You need to stop," he said, cracking up.

She stuck her tongue out at him as he walked her over to the tub.

Their tub had been the only problem point in the entire house. "We were supposed to get a two-person one, but the rest of the house was perfect, so dealt with it," Kousei thought to himself.

"Yeah, Kousei. You dealt with it, but I wasn't happy. You're not the one who was looking forward to bathing with her significant other!" She'd apparently understood what he was thinking.

"But you forget that I do get very excited every time we shower together."

She was left blushing by that one, as he helped her get in the bath, supporting her arms and lowering her in.

"I'm not responding to that." Kaori was looking away from him.

"Don't worry, you'll probably react plenty later."

She tried to reach out and smack him, but her arms were not long enough.

"When did you get so good at jokes, anyway? You usually aren't so… sexual with your jokes, either. Though I do remember falling in love with a camera pervert, so it isn't that big of a surprise." She was never one to let a joke die, even after four years.

"I know. You usually don't need me to half-carry your naked body to the shower, either. I usually try to avoid touching you too much in the shower, because if we try and do anything in there, we could both fall over." And if Kousei didn't want one thing, it would be her getting hurt.

He started her water, and she grabbed his face, almost out of nowhere, as he was finally close enough to kiss. And kiss they did.

They pulled apart, both out of breath. Her water was almost at an acceptable level. He felt it for temperature, and deciding it wasn't warm enough for her standards, turned it up a little.

They enjoyed the silence that passed between them as the bathroom continued to steam up.

He shut the water off when it was high enough. She sat, cross-legged, facing him, as he sat down on his stool.

The silence was broken by her reaching out her hand, motioning for him to hold it. He did, and as always, the bond filled them with a warmth that was a magnitude greater than any warmth that was physical.

It was...more than natural. Greater than what was natural, a larger-than-life feeling. A special feeling that they got to share.

Did they deserve it? Probably. Did they deserve each other? Oh yes.

"I haven't told you since you woke up that I love you, so to make it up to you, I'm going to tell you a few reasons why instead."

She braced with anticipation.

"Kaori, I love you because you filled my life with color again, even after I thought I would never see anything but grey." With this, her cheeks filled with even more color.

"You bring me a level of happiness that no one else could ever give me."

"Well of course not, you dummy. There's only one me, after all." She seemed happy to say that, unafraid to show her love.

He continued with his reasons, determined to tell her exactly what she already knew.

"I love how you always try to make others happy, even when you are struggling yourself. Because despite your situation, you will always put it aside for others or the people you care about."

She gripped his hand, savoring every word like she would have when she knew she was dying.

"We now have a special connection that only we are known to have, which even further proves that our love for each other is strong and that we are meant to be together."

She knew that already. "Of course we're meant to be together," she thought, and her meaning reached him.

"You are strong, and you fought to survive, despite what the doctors and your parents told you."

She was reminded of her time in Totsuhara. How she'd broken out into a run, as she'd said in her letter to him.

"The way you play your music speaks to me on a whole new level, especially now that we have that connection, and it gives me strength and confidence, allowing me to continue to play for you and with you for as long as I'm still standing next to you, no matter how often you overdraw on our connection and make yourself sick."

This embarrassed her a little bit, and she had the grace to avert her gaze from his face for a few seconds while the awkwardness passed.

He continued:

"And despite the scars on your chest bringing you back painful memories, you must know that you are strong, beautiful, and full of life, and that you can get through almost anything. And I will always be by your side, Kaori, through everything, because that's how much I love you."

She felt the tear slide down her cheek before she jumped at him out of the tub, getting the floor wet, getting him wet, and just generally creating a watery floor.

Kousei leaned down next to the bathtub and pulled out the floor drain, still holding onto her with the other arm.

The now-wet Kousei then embraced her with both arms, and heard her whisper through their bond; "I love you too, Kousei Arima. Don't you ever let yourself forget that." The last part was whispered out loud, into his ear.

And as she settled into his lap and they kissed, the scene fades out.

*Two weeks later, the day of departure*

"Are you ready, Kaori?"

"I'm not sure. The illusion only barely held the whole time the last time we did it."

Kousei wasn't having it.

"Not that, you dummy! You're such an airhead sometimes, Kaori. We'll be leaving for the airport soon. Go to the bathroom if you need to."

"Oh. Okay, hon."

The "you didn't have to call me a dork" was entirely implicit through the bond, but Kousei ignored the impulse to respond.

She was a dork. But so was he. She was his dork, though. His weird violinist. And he wouldn't have anyone else.

She knew what he was thinking, as she washed her hands. She gave a grateful push on the thread. There was so much love to be found in the world, if you found just the right person. And she had found the right person.

And she wouldn't rather have anyone else, either, as she felt him walk outside, putting their suitcases in the back of their beetle. "He's grown into such a man."

"I suppose it's time to go, then. Goodbye, house. I'll see you in a few weeks."

She walked outside, into the arms of a new adventure.

And into the arms of her beloved.

*At the airport*

They had just gotten to their boarding area, and were currently ordering a light lunch from a McDonalds.

Her eyes were wide with wonder. Staring at the McDonalds menu, she had just spotted the love of her life. Choco fries.

"Kousei. Choco. Fries," she said, poking him in the side. A man bumped into Kousei on accident. He was carrying a grey canvas backpack.

Kousei apologized first.

"I'm sorry."

He felt a fleeting danger to Kaori through their bond.

But it passed, and he relaxed.

By the time he realized what the man had done, they had sat down, and he seemed to be gone.

He had threatened his woman. He had thought about harming her.

They sat overlooking their boarding area, the drop being about 15 feet.

And Kaori was happily putting chocolate sauce on her fries.

"Kousei, aren't you going to eat your food?"

"Or are you too distracted by what you're gonna eat later?"

Kousei had been taking a sip of his coke and almost spit out what he'd been drinking.

He shot back. "If that's what you want to think."

They both were blushing now.

They both chuckled a little.

Someone walked past Kaori. A familiar man caught his eye.

Alarm bells rang through the bond!

Something was really, really wrong.

Then he saw it. The grey canvas backpack.

And it was behind Kaori's chair.

The owner was nowhere in sight.

The bond connecting them was blaring in his mind, almost conveying literal words.

SHE'S IN DANGER!

GRAB HER AND MOVE!

So he did the one thing he could with the bomb so close. He moved around the table, grabbed her, and leapt over the railing, making sure to have himself on the bottom.

Kaori saw the backpack as she was going over the edge and understood. She put her head into his chest. The bomb exploded.

A piece of shrapnel flew past his head. His eyes widened. And they hit the ground.

The breath left his lungs in a hurry. He felt his ribcage bear the stress of the fall.

It was chaos.

The director was extremely apologetic that security hadn't found the bomb. It had been low-powered and made of plastic.

"Sir, we'll be delaying your flight for a few hours. Please, let my staff escort you to the Platinum lounge, where there is a piano, if you'd so desire to practice. We also have a spa treatment for your…"

"Partner."

"Indeed. Partner, if she'd be interested. We're also upgrading both the destination and return flights to our first-class Platinum experience. Would you like anything out of your luggage for now, or can we stow it for the flight ahead of time?" The director was young, apparently a new-hire, and had already had the perpetrator caught, by sealing off the airport immediately, in a loud display of authority. The police force on hand had totaled seventy individuals, barely enough to cut off all the outside exits. About an hour later, the perpetrator had been caught, after Kousei had identified him in the crowd. A young career criminal.

Kousei and Kaori had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After Kousei had bumped into him, he said, he had switched his motive.

The director's most senior officer on-site had dealt with the young man before, a bipolar schizophrenic with a mild learning difficulty; this had made him not pursue high school as an option.

But from the outside, he just looked like another Japanese man.

And that was the scariest part for Kousei. That man had almost killed the love of his life.

He hadn't been happy, for sure. But the director's immediate action had quelled his anger.

The first-class upgrade had helped, too.

And that left the two lovebirds being escorted to the Platinum lounge, where the two of them simply requested privacy and a bed, and for someone to discreetly come get them when it was time for the flight.

They needed to rest.

And as Kaori changed into her own pj's, and he changed into his, they had only one thought.

In unison:

"I'm so glad we're alive."

And as they got into bed together, the butler, who had been passing outside the door in a complete coincidence, would later describe a halo of light surrounding the door.

*several hours later (about four)*

"We both needed that," Kousei thought, the butler having just came to tell them their flight would be leaving in forty-five minutes.

"Enough time for dinner, if you so desire," he had said.

Kousei had politely rejected that offer, saying a dinner and brunch on the plane to Denmark would be sufficient for their respective appetites.

They were now hurrying out the door of the small suite that had been their accommodation for the past four-ish hours, and Kaori was excited.

They had dressed quickly, excited to board. He hadn't had the heart to tell her that they'd have to wait about twenty minutes until boarding.

She wasn't amused when they got there. Everyone knew who they were by now. "It's so embarrassing!" Kaori thought to herself.

A whispered "I know, right?" by her left ear as they waited at the front of the line to board confirmed that he was paying attention to what she was thinking.

And she was anxious. And excited. And so ready to get on the plane.

Time passed, Kousei leaning on her shoulders from behind, standing a whole head taller than her now.

"Now loading Group A." The flight attendant abruptly said into her microphone.

Kaori and Kousei were first in, being greeted by the entire staff while they walked in, even the pilot and co-pilot.

They were ushered by an attendee to the most spacious seats on the plane.

It was a booth with two seats that each converted into a bed inside. It had a pull across door, maximizing privacy for the two of them. They were shown how to use all the amenities, and were then asked for their drinks of choice.

Neither of them were quite old enough yet, but it didn't really matter to the wait-staff all that much. In the thoughts of one of the flight attendants; "They've been through enough today. They deserve a drink."

Kousei ordered champagne, and Kaori a dessert wine, a sweet blush.

They were told that as soon as they were at cruising altitude, their drinks would arrive immediately. It started very quickly, before they were even fully settled in.

The whole plane began rumbling immediately after they got buckled in, having taken a considerable amount of time getting familiar with their surroundings, along with a flight attendant explaining safety procedures.

It was time. The taxi-ing had finished about a minute ago. They were buckled in, and Kaori was looking out the window as they started moving forward. "This is so cool," she said, her eyes positively gleaming with excitement.

They went faster, and faster, and finally faster yet; the plane disconnected with the ground, and they started to gain altitude.

Kaori was still staring out the window a minute later; "the landscape is so beautiful! Don't you think so, Hon?"

"I see someone beautiful, Kaori, and they're about all I can ever focus on."

She had the grace to blush, as she always did.

Several minutes of being pushed into the backs of their seats, Kaori and Kousei were delighted to hear that they were at cruising altitude, after a polite employee had pulled back their privacy door and told them such.

The drinks came very shortly after that.

Kaori accepted hers very quickly, whereas Kousei had to finish stuffing something into his carry-on before he took his.

They turned their compartment from "take-off mode," into "table mode."

They toasted each other, their love peaking with pleasant force across the thread.

In unison:

"To you."

They clinked their glasses together, and settled in for an evening to themselves.

*12 hours later*

The flight was coming to an end.

Kaori had quickly fallen asleep after each meal. Kousei wasn't so lucky, having to consciously focus on keeping down his food, despite it being delicious.

Damn plane. Well, it made Kaori happy, so some of that happiness spread to him through their connection. But it wasn't enough to make him love the experience. Holding her hand had done the trick each time, though.

Well almost each time.

But they'd cuddled it out in his bed for a few minutes through the turbulence. And then all had been well.

And as they descended, he looked over the remarkable memories they'd had on that plane ride, and how special they were.

And all at once he was grateful for the experience.

Grateful for her, and just plain grateful.


	7. The Broken Mind

Chapter Seven: _The Broken Mind_

 _Authors notes:_

 _Anyone easily disturbed should be wary of this chapter and those after. You'll see why, but I am introducing a very dangerous criminal into this story, one based off of multiple real life killers._

 _Trigger warnings all apply. Rape, death, torture. Nothing too graphic, because I wanted this fanfic to stay rated T._

The young couple exited the plane quickly, being the premiere passengers that they were. They each left one goodie bag heavier, including soft pajamas, slippers, lotions, and the ever important sleeping mask.

The walkway between the plane and the airport was sturdy and as Kaori stepped off it into the airport, she was unaware that she was already being watched.

Kousei felt a tickle in the bond. It was common enough, as Kaori's beauty attracted all sorts of looks.

They were passing a magazine stand, full of popular publications, and mostly devoid of customers. One dark-haired man was operating the stand.

However, he brushed it aside. Kousei was too tired to care at the moment. He hadn't gotten much sleep on the flight. Kaori felt him push on the bond, getting rid of a feeling.

"What was that?" Kaori was obviously curious, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face, her lifted arm accenting her frame.

The tickle returned again.

He let her feel it this time.

This was clearly someone not afraid to stare. Kaori was honestly too tired to understand the implication of it.

And as they moved on to get their belongings from baggage claim, they didn't understand the sort of beast that was on the hunt.

Trigger warning. **Last chance to leave.**

He was a monster. His family knew it, he knew it, and the children that he had made disappear definitely knew it.

He'd never been caught. He hadn't left any evidence, aside from his first kill. He had been inexperienced, and hadn't disposed of the victim in the same way as the rest.

"I guess we are all fools at one point or another," said the man, airport worker Matthew Poulsen, aged thirty-three.

He didn't think he was bad looking. Age was starting to wear him down, along with his lifestyle, but his face was as boyish and trustworthy as ever.

As an adult, he was a career criminal. But no one knew about the broken mind his skull housed. He was entirely sane. Just unforgivably, unspeakably evil. As a child, he'd experimented on animals. He hadn't done it for any scientific reason. He just liked to hear them squeal. He'd been obsessed with death. It wasn't a sexual thing with them.

He spoke softly, crooning to no one in particular.

"I could never hurt them…"

But they were bad, so they had to go away. His mother had found him one day, standing over one of his experiments. The wicked smile on his face would forever haunt her mind.

His animal killings only became less and less satisfying. By the age of 19, a little girl had gone missing from his hometown. He even joined the search. He would talk about the case to whoever would listen. And in his mind as he cried those crocodile tears for the masses, he remembered gleefully how he took everything from her.

She had only been twelve. He didn't care. He never would.

And as he looked for his next victim, he spotted a radiant young woman, accompanied by a lithe young man.

"Such a waste," he whispered under his breath, "I'd do so many things to you, little lady."

The young man shivered.

The girl spoke briefly to the young man.

The girl lifted her arm, and his broken mind liked what it saw, sexualizing an underdeveloped body.

But he tore his eyes away.

That's how it always started. For a while, in between his triumphs, he could control his urges. For a week, or a month even. But then he started slipping. And then the monster would say hello.

They never stood a chance against him. His victims were always of small stature. Exclusively. And it just so happened that Matthew Poulsen was a tall man. He was 6'2.

But he was poor, from his sentence for the animal abuse charges filed against him by his own mother.

The once robust killer was now thin, and occasionally getting sloppy when assaulting the girls. Sometimes, he would accidentally forget to tie down an arm or leg, and he would have to cover his face while at work to hide the scratches.

He had used many different excuses to explain away absences from work.

And many excuses for the injuries occasionally inflicted on him by his victims.

A bush got my arm over the weekend, got a nosebleed that gave me a black eye.

That one had been particularly strong. An athlete. But in the end he'd broken her too.

And looking as the young lady moved on with her little boyfriend, he couldn't help but stare, and as both of them shivered, he smiled, but his eyes weren't smiling. They were predatory. And no one was going to stop him from getting his prey.

Not this time.

Kaori and Kousei both shivered, the bond continuing to alert them to the passing danger, but as they rounded the corner to baggage claim, the stares disappeared, the tension in the bond dissipating.

They didn't really notice that much, given that one of them had been up the majority of a day, and the other just being exhausted by her first flight.

Kaori wasn't the strongest woman ever. She'd kept going to the gym after her physical therapy was over, but her returns quickly became diminishing in nature.

"I hate that this made me so tired. I thought I'd be excited. Right Kousei?"

She turned to her partner, who was essentially dead walking. He needed sleep, and desperately.

They waited several minutes for their luggage.

Kousei almost fell asleep on his feet.

They grabbed their things, and blustered out of the airport, heading toward the private transport vehicle they'd booked for movement to and from the airport.

They saw the name Arima on the sign that the chauffeur was holding up. He helped Kousei load their things, while Kaori took her seat in the back. Kousei opened the door shortly after, shooting his head onto her lap after leaping onto the seat.

"Immature much, hon?" Kaori said, clearly amused by her boyfriend's antics.

Kousei was serious about sleeping on her lap. She wasn't having it, and tugged on her side of the bond, snapping him out of part of his stupor. He started to act his age, sitting up and blinking dazedly.

The car was already en route by the time he was done waking up.

Their hotel was nice enough, being modern and sleek.

Advanced amenities and comfort were the big priorities for the two of them when booking the hotel, so they chose the one that best fit their needs, regardless of its cost.

They could have gotten separate beds, but Kaori had thought that that would be lame, sleeping in a bed without her partner in it. And Kousei couldn't have agreed more.

They approached the hotel, the sign getting larger in Kaori's line of sight.

The hotel wasn't particularly big, but it was comfortable, and modern. It was an average size for a hotel.

There were always rooms available, as they didn't overbook their rooms, constantly having some stay on reserve.

They pulled into the parking lot.

"Kousei, don't fall asleep! We're here!"

They struggled with their things, getting them into the hotel lobby. Unbeknownst to them, they had led the monster right to where they'd been staying, and he'd soon know who they were.

They didn't know that the kindly man who had shown them to the particular hotel loading bay at the airport had been the most evil person they'd ever meet. Because he'd stopped looking at them, and they hadn't seen his eyes, brown and beady.

They couldn't have known about the children he'd made disappear. They'd have never come if they knew what they'd walked into.

They'd walked cleanly into a practiced trap.

He knew by Kaori's violin case that she was an international contestant. And as Matthew Poulsen drove to the hotel, he asked for a reserve room, which he'd done before. And the employees there knew him by now.

After all, the time spent there the last two years hadn't all been used to make two young violinists disappear.

He would have never expected what he was now up against. He couldn't have possibly known that he was up against a pair that knew when the other was in danger.

He was in the midst of making the last few mistakes he'd ever make. What more danger could he put himself in?

Kaori and Kousei had since forgotten about the lingering looks they'd received at the airport. They were currently tussling to see who would open their hotel room first, each pulling at the key.

Kousei took control of the keycard.

"Fine, then. You open the door. Meanie." Kaori was a secretly amused by their antics.

They were inside unpacking within minutes. And by they, Kousei was unpacking both suitcases.

He spotted lingerie in her suitcase.

" _Oh god what does she have planned?"_ He thought this to himself, unaware that Kaori was closely feeling for his thoughts, hoping to catch wind of engagement plans.

He heard a whisper behind him.

"The better question is, dear heart, what do you have planned? That's what I'd like to know. And if I have to seduce it out of you," she said, leaning forward, pressing herself against his back, "I will."

They waited there, her chest on his back, each waiting for the other to speak.

"Are you gonna let me unpack, or are you going to keep searching me for engagement thoughts? Because let me tell you now. You aren't gonna find anything obvious."

She thought on it for a moment, and decided to let him continue, pulling out her phone and headphones, after letting go reluctantly.

Kousei was relieved. He'd been hiding the box in his left hand the entire time, and even now had her cut off from his side of the bond. He was lucky she wasn't hard pressed to figure out what was going on, or he'd really be toast.

She'd turned on a record from an old fusion band. Their hit song, "Japanese Soul Brothers," rang through the headphones, bringing her to somewhere else, in a club. Somewhere full of aggressive dancing and intensity. Somewhere where the stakes were high. Full of tension.

The song would eventually resolve, but as she was somewhere else, her partner was busy hiding the engagement ring. And he wasn't having too much luck.

He was grateful to have her, but hiding such an obvious box was a big hassle.

"I was able to hide it well enough before, what should I do now that she's in the same room and I can't leave without alerting her?"

And he did the one thing he could think of. He put it inside his spare shoes, which he never used, but brought along anyway.

And so he put it there indeed. And he roused her from her music-induced trance, breaking through her daydream. Kaori sat at the rooms little table, content. Kousei was getting them both tea, and Kaori was content as everything was well. But not everything was well, as they were about to learn.

There was a pause as he sat down. Time seemed to freeze for just a brief moment. Everything turned grayscale and back into color.

Words echoed through Kaori's mind. And they held a certain power over her, compelling her.

"Go to bed, child. I can't stay for long. I have a message for you two, and you need to hear it before you stay here any longer."

And like that, as soon as the words started, they stopped.

And at once, Kousei and Kaori understood.

Their limbs almost moved on their own, getting into their pajamas. The bond, as sentient as it was, knew when it was being spoken to by a higher power.

And as they laid in bed, cuddling, the bond pushed the two of them into a fitful sleep.

Kaori stood alone in the sky, her feet pressing against the blue nothingness underneath. She looked around in awe, this only being her second time seeing the place.

The whole floor was a mirror. Behind her, she heard a chuckle. She turned, and there was a man, wearing a toga and a half-crooked smile. He had wings. A halo of light surrounded his head, framing his eye sockets with an odd amount of shadow.

 _Angel?_

"Yes, child. I am the messenger for those in danger, Markus. And I'm busy, so let me get to the point. You are being targeted by a sexual predator. One that has raped and killed multiple children. You are not safe alone, but so long as you stay with Kousei, you should be able to avoid danger. The feelings you two felt earlier were the stares of this man. He already has you in his sights. He will get you if you let your guard drop for even a second."

Kaori was stunned into silence. There was little she could say to that. "Isn't this a dream?"

"Does that make it any less real, child?" Markus said, emphatically. "I can tell you this much. I am real, and you are wasting my time. I have more than two thousand more messages to deliver in the next three hours, and I can only slow down time to one half normal speed."

"Okay. Don't let me keep you, then. Thanks for the warning…. Wait! What's this man's name?" Kaori had almost forgotten to ask.

"His name? Matthew Poulsen. Now," he said, breaking into a warm smile, "stay safe. Goodbye, for now." And with that, Markus disappeared.

And Kaori woke up with a terrified shout as their door rattled loudly.


	8. The Reversed Confrontation

Author's note: Thanks to all the followers and favoriters on this story! This chapter is dedicated to you!

Chapter 8: The Reversed Confrontation

"Housekeeping!"

"Aah!" Kaori awoke with a violent shout.

Markus was gone, and so was the sky that had surrounded her in the dreamscape seconds before.

Kousei had been sleeping dreamlessly. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, when it came to last night's sleep.

He had been startled awake by Kaori shouting.

He addressed housekeeping. "We'll be out in an hour, please come back then!"

They heard a cart roll away, and soon all that was left was the sound of Kaori's hurried breathing.

"What's wrong, Kaori? Just take a breath."

He grabbed her hand, trying to calm her. For indeed, she was hyperventilating.

But something that had only occurred once before happened as their hands touched. The bond reacted to his desire to understand what's wrong, showing her strong memory of the dream, as it was etched powerfully into her mind.

An angel appeared to her.

He spoke a few words, but then his voice finally came into focus for three sentences.

"You're being targeted by a sexual predator."

Kousei felt his heart sink.

"This man has raped and killed multiple children. And he's staying in the same hotel as you."

Kaori saw his face turn bone-white, and then start to fill with anger. He was not happy that she was being targeted.

"Kaori… he will not touch you. I swear to that." his voice was quivering with rage.

"Okay. I know you won't let him, Kousei. Markus told me to stay with you at all times. And that, is what I plan on doing." She leant into his chest and realized they were probably less than 100 feet from someone that wanted to torture, rape, and kill her.

He understood this through their connection, and the thought of her in such a state brought his heart to a near stop and brought tears to his eyes.

"Please. Stop thinking like that. We can't let him ruin this trip for us. We have to keep you safe, and the first step is by calming down so we can stay on guard. Okay?" He looked into her deep blue eyes. She wasn't okay at all.

They continued their hug.

And then the realization hit him.

An angel.

He leaned back, looking back into her eyes.

"What do you mean an angel appeared to you, Kaori? Are you sure?"

"Positive. My mind sure wasn't making him up, Kousei." She was understanding of his confusion. And sent her feelings about it through their connection. Those of acceptance, and a hurriedness to move on from the situation. And obviously her concern for him bled through, too.

There was a brief pause as he digested what the thread was telling him. And he spoke, after what seemed to have been an eternity.

"...thank you for that, I needed it."

"We really need to get out of here, Kousei. He knows we're here. Every minute we're here gives him more time to prepare." Kaori had been bolstered by his thanks, and was thinking more logically than her partner, for once.

"So what you're saying is that we should head into town, then? Stay away from the hotel as much as we can?" They separated from their embrace, and faced each other sitting criss-cross on the bed. Kaori nodded. "Yeah. Let's get dressed, and get the heck out."

They each got dressed. Her into khakis, light sweater, and a jacket with scarf.

Kousei got into a horizontally striped blue-white shirt, and dark colored jeans.

He opted for his adidas jumpsuit, considering that today's forecast was on the chillier side.

They hurried out of their room, Kousei grabbing his wallet from the bedside table, and Kaori grabbing their phones and collecting them into her purse.

They rushed down the stairs provided by the building, hoping to avoid the predator.

And avoid him they did, as when they opened the door to the stairwell, he had just gotten on the elevator in the lobby, intending to grab his things before heading out on his day off.

They would have run right into him.

But they didn't, and as they reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the lobby, they both felt the tension in the bond ease as they got further from him in physical space.

"Isn't that a great feeling? It's like having the world roll off your shoulders."

Kaori agreed through the bond and out loud.

"Yeah. I can finally feel you again, it's so comforting." She smiled a tired smile, and his smile faded a little bit.

He knew exactly how much of her fear she was trying to hide. It wasn't fooling him.

But he let the subject drop, and they each grabbed a pre-toasted bagel from the breakfast buffet and promptly left.

The sidewalk was well-kept. They really didn't have much to think about it aside from that. It was just a short walk to the town center, and both were anxious to get into town, for separate reasons.

Kaori wanted to get her shopping done, being able to get the killer out of her mind momentarily.

Kousei wasn't as lucky. And as he readily chomped on his bagel, he couldn't help but wonder how a fight between him and Poulsen would go.

The bond flashed an image into his mind.

He was standing over a broken and bleeding man. The man's jaw was disconnected, its connective tissue destroyed.

And as soon as the image had started, it was gone.

" _A vision, maybe?"_ Kousei was confused. Did he just see his future self? Or was that Poulsen on the ground?

" _It definitely wasn't me,"_ Kousei thought. The man on the ground didn't have glasses. And obviously, Kousei did.

Kaori had let her partner think with that look on his face for long enough. "Hey. You. What's going on? I can't read ya."

Kousei turned his attention to her once more.

"Just thinking about how I'm going to beat that creep into the floor when he tries something." A vein twitched in his forehead, almost comically.

"Okay. That's a little more violent than normal for you, but that's to be expected when he hasn't gotten any in a week and is stressing out, right?" She leaned in closer to him, linking her arm around his, whispering into his ear.

"We'll just have to remedy that sometime soon, right?"

Kousei felt his face heat up. That was a good bit of news if he'd ever heard any before.

"Well we have shopping to do right now, right? You aren't planning on jumping me here, are you?" Kousei looked around. There were houses around and he couldn't see any cover where they could do it.

"You wish! I always knew you were a camera pervert, but apparently you're also just a pervert in general." She had on the flickering edges of a smile, trying to contain her amusement.

Kousei felt understandably tramped on. "You just won't let it die, will you?"

"Never." She looked resolute, for once.

They continued walking until they reached town.

And what they found was charming, to say the least.

Small brick buildings, restaurants, a bookshop, post office, and not much else.

It appeared that life there hadn't quite caught up with the rest of the world.

And as they strolled past a particular establishment, Kaori caught wind of a sweet smell.

Almost like the bakery back home.

"We're eating here, and that's final! Do you want to miss the shower tomorrow?"

What may have sounded like a haphazard threat to bystanders was the worst nightmare of one Kousei Arima.

That was his "get to stare without being called a perv" time!

So in the end, Kousei caved. They entered Andersen's tavern for an early lunch.

The first thing Kousei noticed when they got inside were two young men in the corner. On was on the piano, and the other was on the panflute, and they were playing a melody similar to greensleeves, from England.

"Freaking casuals. Don't even know what music is from which country."

Kousei was clearly poking fun at the two young men.

"Oh hon, don't be so harsh. Their playing is so earnest, let them be."

They seated themselves at the bar, being quickly attended to by a man in his fifties who looked like an average grandfatherly figure, with his dark grey beard and wrinkles from smiling too much.

"Hello. My name is Thomas Andersen, the owner of this tavern. But most people just call me Tom."

They engaged in a brief, if not enjoyable, bit of banter with the owner before placing their orders.

"I'll have the strawberry soup, please!" Kaori was energetic and excited for the sweet dessert.

"And I'll have the fish cakes with rye bread on the side." Kousei was as adultish as he ever was.

The sweet and savory scents filled the near-empty bar as Tom labored over their food, which he then brought over.

The bar was silent as they ate, a soft calmness spread out between them.

Kaori heard a car door slam outside.

They both felt their bond tighten with tension.

And they both left out the back door.

"Kaori, start running towards that drugstore," Kousei gasped out, pushing her further.

They ran.

It was hours later, and with the shopping done, Kaori had been thoroughly embarrassed by her lack of knowledge on Danish culture. They were walking back to the hotel, the earlier incident with...him, forgotten, for the most part.

The bond was still tense. After it made Kousei's ears physically ring, the tension had stayed, like a warning to them both.

They were approaching the hotel, its sleek design reaching out into the sky, blocking out the setting sun. They had been silent for the majority of the afternoon, the tension between them making them both feel argumentative, and neither of them wanted a fight with the other.

They were in the parking lot when the tension was starting to climb.

Kaori took a step forward, the bond alerting her that something was very, very wrong.

Kousei took a step forward, just now noticing the idling car in the parking lot.

They passed an alleyway when the connection between them suddenly screamed into both of their minds: "Move!"

Kousei turned his head. In the alleyway, was the monster himself.

Matthew Poulsen. And Kaori stood in between the two men.

Kaori saw something flash out of the corner of her eye.

Kousei saw Poulsen pull a knife.

The bond at this point was directing his every movement into protecting Kaori.

Nothing more, nothing less.

So he shoved her out of the way of the oncoming knife, and did something reckless.

He caught that fucking knife.

And his eyes flashed, a halo of light formed around his head for a brief instant as he reeled back with his right hand. And he decked Matthew Poulsen with everything he did and didn't have.

He didn't feel it as his hand broke. But Poulsen felt his jaw become unhinged on the left side. And then he hit the ground, breaking his nose.

In another place, in a separate plane of existence, He sat, observing the situation with annoyance. They were not supposed to fight yet.

" _This absolutely will not work. They won't realize who they are unless they confront him later, and together."_

He did something that would startle his two advisors out of their slumber. He stood.

He took a step, and he was there. In front of the two that had fought.

He had had enough. The Origin moved his hand noncommittally, reversing the flow of time, and he watched as the world, his world, moved backwards in time.

It was morning then, and Poulsen had just reached the top of the elevator shaft.

The Origin took another step, and then he was there too.

He whispered into Poulsen's ear, time frozen.

"You will go to your room, and shall remain there until the day is over. Predators don't hunt during the day, after all. You're a disappointing coward."

And then he was gone.

And then the world moved.

And moved.

And moved, until it was nighttime.

Evening had set in long before now, and the couple, enamored with each other, had just laid down to bed. Their bond wasn't overly active, and they both wondered why.

Poulsen laid in his own bed, the way he had since this morning when he found he couldn't make either of his hands open the handle of his room. It was almost like he was a child, grounded by his mother again.

He hadn't had a good childhood, by any means. But he wasn't the finest human being to ever be.

His mother and father had been first cousins. Not an uncommon thing, in some backwater parts of any country.

And as he laid there, thinking to himself on how he was going to take everything from Kousei Arima, he didn't know that divine intervention had already taken place.

And he certainly didn't know that it would happen again.

A knife flashed out from the alleyway, Kousei shoving her out of the way.

And Kaori woke with a start, shivering. She wasn't shivering from her nightmare, she soon realized. Kousei had taken all the covers.

She tried to pull some back, but he had himself wrapped up in them again, and she wasn't getting anywhere.

"Well what other choice do you leave me, hon," she said, jolting him awake with fear sent straight through their connection.

He was on his feet within a second.

"Is something wrong?" Kousei wasn't really even awake mentally, but his body had been ready for a fight.

"You took all the covers again, weird pianist boy. You were like a caterpillar with its cocoon." Kaori was amused by his annoyed expression, but her face quickly distorted into a frown. She spoke again; "I also had a nightmare. About Poulsen. He had a knife. It seemed so real, and I'm glad that I'm here with you now."

Her blue eyes were so vivid by their lamplight. He couldn't say no when she asked to cuddle.

And instead of one person wrapped in blankets, this time when they fell asleep, two people were wrapped up in the covers.

Purely contented, all tension faded away.

Even that of the future that no longer existed.

And the Origin thought that _this_ was a lot closer to the plan, indeed.

Author's Notes: So… what did all of you think of the Origin? Please review if you have feedback, good or bad.


	9. The Mocking of the Innocent

Chapter Nine: The Mocking of the Innocent

Kousei had awoken to a still sleeping partner. Their beige sheets had called out to him to stay, but he needed his morning coffee, on a day this important. "Tomorrow is the competition, and we both need to be in the right mindset." He mumbled this to himself, knowing that Kaori would be sleeping for a while yet.

His checkered pajamas were caught under his heels as he opened the door to their shared room with a rightward twist.

The hallways were desolate, everyone still sleeping. Almost everyone, anyway.

But Kousei had no way to know that he would be faced with a nightmare in the hallway. So, he took the elevator downstairs, intent on getting his energy for the day somehow.

It was a quick ride down, and a ride devoid of any normal elevator music. The doors opened, revealing only two other people in the lobby; a very tired looking staff-member, and a man that Kousei didn't know. At least from behind, as when the man turned his head towards the sound of the opening doors, Kousei could see the monster himself, Matthew Poulsen.

" _Oh, fuck this…_ " Kousei thought to himself, determined to get his coffee, but terrified at the prospect of interacting with the serial murderer and rapist.

The room itself had three sections. The dining area, the recreational seating area, and the front desk/ bellhop area. And while the man _might_ not recognize him, Kousei definitely knew who he was.

The man's look turned awkward, and he turned back around. He wasn't anything more than a violent nerd. That's what he was, really. He wasn't exceptionally intelligent, but he was definitely not good with women, or anyone, for that matter.

And Kousei was everything he had wanted to be, as a child. Successful, talented, and had a beautiful girl in his life. As Poulsen had become a teen, he had still wanted a beautiful girl in his life, too. Not a woman, but a girl. And that had been when he had been sane enough to want to get help. But as he went through puberty, his sanity left him behind, leaving him a shell of the once ambitious, if average, young man that he once was.

Kousei had wondered about the sort of person that Poulsen had been.

As he walked over to the coffee bar, he imagined what Poulsen had been like, as a child. " _Was he always so evil?_ "

Poulsen didn't know what to do. He knew this young man was the only thing that stood between him and Kaori Miyazono. But it would be too reckless, to try anything, before the competition.

"I suppose that's the part of me that's still sane speaking, huh?"

Kousei turned around, startled at the first time hearing the evil man's voice. He was surprised that Poulsen deigned to speak in English, if they were in Denmark, and Poulsen was supposedly from Denmark, too.

" _Why did he speak in English? Is he just trying to throw me off, or is he really that insane?_ " Kousei didn't know what to think. But he didn't have to think that hard, as Matthew Poulsen clearly didn't know he was thinking out loud and continued talking.

"I can't wait until I can get my hands on that Miyazono girl… she'll be so sweet as she bleeds out." He almost seemed ready to drool.

The employee in the corner suddenly snapped to alertness, a look of shock prominently displayed on her fair features.

Kousei stopped moving. He felt the blood drain from his face, and he slowly turned around. He was suddenly very awake, and very angry. "What did you say, sir? Because I'm not sure I heard you right, but you seem very enthusiastic about something you have no right to be enthusiastic about."

And Matthew Poulsen's mouth snapped shut, and his eyes widened. Even insane people knew when they'd been cornered. And Matthew knew that he needed to escape that situation, and quickly.

So that's what he did, jumping out of his chair, running for the elevator, intent on getting his things and leaving. But little did he know that he was much, much slower than an incensed, if tired, Kousei Arima. Whose legs were currently working separately from his upper half, avoiding chairs and furniture as he ran after Poulsen, catching up to him in seconds. He high-jumped over a couch, and was essentially on top of the man.

"Huh? Chickenshit goes what?" Kousei said this as close to Poulsen's ear as possible. And with that, Poulsen tripped, falling face-first into the elevator doors. And Kousei realized that this wasn't the right approach, and let him go. He'd be charged as a criminal if he out-right attacked Poulsen without a serious reason to. And after a moment of hesitation, Poulsen was in the elevator, frantically pressing the button for his floor. And Kousei let him go.

Turning back around, leaving the employee still stunned, he got his coffee and sat down.

Turning to the employee, who was about half a second from calling for security, he said, "Sorry. My brother and I aren't exactly getting along at the moment, and he likes to try and get on my nerves."

The employee didn't really seem to buy it, but she didn't call security, either. At least not yet.

But that man was definitely going to try something. The question was, when?

Their shower had been bliss. What else could they agree on more? "Hey, hon?" You feel amazing." Kousei was laying it on thick this time. Kaori blushed, her cheeks turning an almost comical pink.

"Shut up and get dressed for bed, dork. Your time to stare and be a perv for today is up. And you won't be getting any tomorrow because of the competition." She was very firm about this. But she turned and leaned her back against his bare chest, looking up into his face. "So I hope that I felt good enough to last you for a while." It was Kousei's turn to blush.

He pushed her onto the bed, a foot or two away. "Do you want to get me going again? Because it doesn't take much, and a naked you does it, usually."

"The baby goes 'waah,' Kousei." Kaori stuck her tongue out at him, still annoyed about being pushed. "And what are you trying to do, huh? Would you rather I not rub my body up against yours? Would you prefer it if I didn't make your heart race?"

"You know that that's not what I meant. You're an excellent lover, Kaori, but we need to get to bed, and you know it." His eyes were intense, boring into her. "The competition is tomorrow, and I refuse to lose. If you're not at your best, I can't guarantee we'll win. Put on your pj's. Now."

Her face became fake-angry. "What does he think he is, my boss? No more shared showering for him, I guess," Kaori watched as his expression flashed into a smile for a second, amused. "Don't be making too serious of threats, now."

Their bond tightened a little, apparently recognizing a threat of its own.

And then they heard it. The breathing, coming from outside their hotel room door, and a suspicious noise.

Kousei's feet hit the ground with a loud thud, as all 180 pounds impacted the floor. A scurrying was audible from the hallway, and then, as he reached the door to unlock it, an elevator ding was also audible further down the hallway.

Poulsen had escaped. They had been listened in on.

Kaori was having a moment, her eyes widened, pupils dilating with fear. "He…. was spying on us? He knows...where our room is?" Her voice was filling with absolute terror. She tried to grasp his hand but missed because of the tremors wracking her body. "Hey, help me out here?"

His hand touched and held hers. Immediately he threw all the love he had at her, almost overwhelming their connection. She buckled under the weight of the emotions, physically being pressed down. "Too...much, hon," she gasped out, straining.

He lessened the flow, and instantly it was like a fourth dimensional feeling was now three dimensional, and thusly understandable. All that love had been lost on her, in her state of fear and panic. "I get what you mean, now, love. Thank you." She pulled him in, still in a state of undress. There was a pulse of light as they thought in fear, panic still largely unabated:

"What can we do now?" Their connection pulsed once, twice, three times, before swallowing the two of them in an orb of gilded light.

Everything around them faded away.

And they sank into a memory of eons past.

A man sat in front of them. If you could call him a man, that is. He was known by many names, but really only preferred one.

A fourth dimensional being, trapped outside his own plane of existence by his own people, forced to live in three dimensional space, where everything was dull and grey, and nothing was everywhere. He decided to use his talent to create, and create something beautiful.

Life.

So he created six beings, similar to him, but constrained by the three-dimensional nothing that they were created out of. They were like light given form, like him. He glowed with a grey tinge, casting a silver light across the heavenly space he created to live in with his children.

Their light was that of the gilded chariots back home, which he had ridden in his youth.

Two of his finest creations, Octavian and Marina, stood before him now. He knew that two other children of his were now watching. He knew everything. It was a burden, being the absolute author, but he dealt with it.

They would soon understand who they were, or at least who they used to be. Because they had to, or else his other, lesser half would win, and Kousei would spiral into darkness.

He couldn't control them. But he could push them in the right direction.

"Children, now that I know that you're listening, listen clear. Heed these words, for this is technically all I can interact with you without breaking your minds. I am the Origin. The creator of everything that is. I am the author of the book, so to speak."

Kousei opened his mouth to speak.

"I even know what you're about to say right now, Octavi- Kousei. But please, I don't have much time left to do this in. The timeline here is unbalanced, and the universe has been destabilized enough that it needs restarting. So please, allow me this time to speak."

Kaori's mouth was wide open. The figure smirked. "Kaori, save that sight for Kousei later when you overreact to this memory. As I was saying, there are a few parts of the book that have been corrupted, you see. For evil dwells in every heart, and what was left of the evil in me was cast out long ago, and became Death. The man you are dealing with now is not my creation. He should not exist, a shade on the paper, the shadow of words. A creation of Death himself. Matthew Poulsen was designed to drag the innocent to death, where they mourn in purgatory for eons, suffering, away from me. I cannot do some things, and defeating part of myself is one of them. That is where you come in, children. You have to make sure he dies, by human hands or otherwise. I know it is a high price of you to ask. But it must be done, so this shade of the future doesn't destroy everything. When I create, everything is balanced. When death creates, it's like replacing part of a sentence with something that doesn't fit."

Kaori and Kousei stood in absolute silence as the gray sky around them started to fade back into their room.

The Origin got the last word, though.

"Oh, and children? Don't die. I love you too much to see you trapped away from me."

His final words echoed through their minds.

At once, they collapsed, the bond having drained what little spiritual strength they had built up. And they slept there, on the floor, dreamless.

And dreamless they were, for a time.

And then they awoke to the sunrise creeping in their hotel window, their room awash with auburn light.

"Kousei, you didn't close the curtains last night," Kaori said, sunlight hitting her face.

" _Uh oh, she sounds pissed_ …" Kousei tried to keep this thought out of their connection, but it didn't really work.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be annoyed! But I guess it does give us more time to talk about that memory…"

"What memor- Oh. Yeah. That." His mind flashed back to the previous evening, and the connection surged with his understanding. "What do you think, hon? I honestly thought the last divine intervention we'd get would be Markus, but apparently I was wrong...Now we've gotten orders from "God" himself!" Surprisingly, it was Kousei that was freaking out, instead of Kaori.

"What are we going to do?" Her side of the thread felt strained and confused. "How are we supposed to kill a person, even one as terrible as him?" Her eyes held plenty of fear in that moment, and she clearly didn't want to be the one to put Poulsen down, as she wasn't a violent person.

And he understood that thought perfectly, even though he wasn't the one thinking it. "We don't have to kill him, you know. We just have to expose him for his crimes, and the Danish authorities should make sure he can't ever harm another person." His declaration was certainly agreeable to his other half, who nodded in an adorable affirmation of his words.

"Yeah! We shouldn't be responsible for all the work, after all!" His eyes softened at her smile. "You're so cute, even when in danger." He was still so devoted, even through their greatest challenge so far. And they hadn't even gotten to their favorite pre-competition ritual yet.

They started to get dressed, their favorite part of the morning before a competition. They would help each other get dressed.

Kousei helped her get into the scarlet dress, closing up the zipper with ease.

She helped him into his dress shirt and vest after helping him with his pants.

He sat behind her at the mirror and sink across from their hotel bathroom, brushing her hair as she did her makeup, even though she didn't need makeup. He was more kind than she'd ever had any right to expect him to be. And she was more than he could ever have deserved.

And everything, just for a moment, was perfect. The scars in the mirror weren't even thought of anymore.

Author's Notes: Did you like it? Please review if you thought it was a good read!


	10. JALOUSIE

Chapter 10: JALOUSIE

Author's notes: This is the climax of this entire arc. I hope you all enjoy it.

The concert hall where the competition would take place was a thirty-minute cab ride in from the countryside where they'd been staying. The cab driver was an interesting man who welcomed their money more so than them but had been happy to provide boisterous conversation for the whole ride, talking about his two small children. They exited the cab, thanking and paying the driver.

Odense was an interesting city, to be certain. The people there seemed warm and polite until they learned of their status as foreigners, after which most people seemed curter and in a hurry to escape conversation. They followed the signs to the concert hall, about two blocks away.

They strolled up to the main entrance, music grasped at their fingertips, and arrived just in time to confirm their registration, which they'd submitted in the month prior.

The hallways to their practice room were filled with sound, the sounds of other contestants. Some were better than others.

But Kaori and Kousei paid them no mind. They were going to win, even if they couldn't activate their illusions for some reason. No one had seen them before, and hopefully they would steal the hearts of the judges.

Their practice room was an off-white, with one music stand and a piano. And as the music swelled throughout the building, everyone was entrapped within the snare of the illusion. Everyone else's music stopped for a moment. And the illusion stopped, compressing back into their connection.

"That's not normal. Why did everyone else stop playing, Kousei?" She was confused. Were they that good that everyone stopped playing?

"I don't think so, Kaori. I think that if someone can hear us playing, they are forced into our illusion. We probably just interrupted everyone else's practicing." His eyes were amused, and then they weren't, in the next moment.

"We shouldn't use our bond for this competition. At least not the illusory part. It enhances our own abilities past the normal point." He sounded firm on this, in Kaori's ears.

"But we worked so hard on it!" She really wanted to show off their hard work. "You especially worked so hard for this!"

And then their bond tightened. Poulsen was in the building. "Oh, come on! Not on today, of all days!" Kaori was annoyed. Kousei's mind was running away with him, with its ideas.

"Or maybe, we could devise a way to scare him off." His eyes filled with mischievous energy.

An illusion, a new one, spread out between their thoughts.

They were going to make him very, very uncomfortable by the end of their performance.

"And the best part, Kousei? It'll just seem like he's crazy and hallucinating." Kaori was pleased with their plan; despite the tension in the air, they would be ready for him.

Several minutes passed in chaos as they formed the new illusion for the first time, connecting it to the music.

Kousei hoped they could focus it on just Poulsen. He hoped that someone important would be watching this performance.

They were going to need divine intervention for this.

"Let me get this started! Are you ready for some music!" The announcer, the chairman of the association, was overly boisterous, and as Kousei and Kaori watched from backstage, they were indeed ready to hear what their competition had to bring to the table.

Kaori thought almost nostalgically, reminded of the old days; " _Makes me remember when we were younger. Even though we only performed once back then."_

Kousei understood what she was thinking. Their hands, clasped together, stuck firm as the order was announced.

"...Kaori Miyazono, accompanied by Kousei Arima, number five!" They were afraid, because the monster was there. They could feel it, tightening their connection just the slightest bit. But they were both brave, each made fearless because of the other.

In unison, they thought as one; _"I'm not afraid, because you're here."_

There was a solitary bead of sweat as they sat backstage, listening to the first performer and accompanist. The violinist drove through the melody, rushing towards the end.

Kaori smiled a little, and spoke softly;

"Well he certainly has the end of his performance in mind, huh?" And as he reached the end, he made a mistake, playing an G sharp where there should have been a C sharp. Kaori's head snapped up, her face going from normal to an analytical frown.

As he backpedaled from his mistake, she happened to state the obvious; "That was a rather unfortunate mistake. At least it was in the key, though, so it was a diatonic mistake, which is better than a chromatic mistake."

Kousei was facing her, amused by her seriousness; "What I wouldn't do for you to take our practices this seriously."

Her face went a little annoyed, and she gave him _the look._ She reached over from where she sat on the bench and clocked him on the arm.

"Ow!" Kousei yelped, before realizing the performance was still going on, and shutting himself up.

"That was for saying that I don't take things seriously, you meanie." Her eyes went from annoyed to mischievous. They softened, in a way. Her look was filled with love, after all.

"Ugh, I can't even stay mad at you. But shut up about what you want and be grateful that you have a woman that's willing to put up with you." The last part was spoken with a raised eyebrow.

They heard the climactic tones of an ending strain.

The performer finished his part one measure before the pianist. After the mistake, he just hadn't been able to recover.

The second set of performers was quickly hurried past them, and Kousei saw a set of twins, non-identical, because only one was a girl. The girl turned to look him in the eyes, her beauty almost matching Kaori's, though in quite a different way altogether. Her brown eyes lingered on him for just a moment before her expression hardened into one that Kousei knew very well. She remembered that he was part of the competition. No time to be looking. "Wow," Kousei said, as the two passed, "they make for quite the eye-catching ensemble, don't you think, Kaori?"

Kaori thought they were both rather attractive, what with their dark, straight hair, defined features, and slender builds. She knew that Kousei thought the girl was at the very least cute, and she wasn't mad about it. She turned to him as the pair were introduced onstage, and told him what he'd been told before. "You can look, but not touch. Your touch is… All. For. Me." The last parts emphasized with a pause between them.

She had gotten closer with every word, only seeming to catch herself when she was about to pounce on Kousei.

"I guess we probably shouldn't be intimate backstage, huh?" Kaori's smile, as always, was so contagious, that Kousei couldn't help but grin.

"You're not wrong, hon."

And the two onstage started playing. It was a song in lydian mode, meaning it sounded very bright and happy. Not entirely the best sort of song for a competition, but it seemed to match their play styles well enough, with the light melody from the young woman matching up perfectly with its lilting intensity to its partner in the firm and strong part of the piano.

The young woman's eyes, if Kousei could have seen them, were filled with so much love for the world around her.

Truly a wonderful performance, is what the judges were all thinking.

And as the piece slowed to its development in the third part, the young man got his chance to shine, playing solo for a meager fifteen seconds.

But he made every second count.

They were both sweating and playing in a furious crescendo by the time the ending strain came around, her hair getting in her face, his cufflinks coming loose.

It built to a dramatic finish, and after it was over, the young woman met eyes with Matthew Poulsen, as she scanned the crowd for family. She saw the perversion in his eyes, and then tore her own eyes away, blushing as he mentally undressed her.

Her brother immediately noticed something was wrong, and as she hurried off stage, he managed to catch up with her and ask; "what's wrong?"

Her answer was simple enough.

"There's a pervert in the crowd, Eric. Nothing too major, don't worry." He didn't believe that it wasn't anything major. His sister had always been chaste, and most things sexual made her uncomfortable, especially when she got looks from men she didn't know.

And Kousei and Kaori heard the entire exchange, sitting a mere ten feet away.

The brother noticed them. The sister saw them and turned away, face completely red, embarrassed out of her mind.

"Oh! Sorry, but we just…"

Kousei answered, cutting him off; "There's no need to be ashamed. My girlfriend here gets a lot of looks too, so we both understand what just happened."

The pair took a look each at the couple, grateful for the understanding.

The brother, Eric, had his expression soften a little, a small smile adorning his features.

The sister still had a blush on her face when she looked at Kousei and declared; "See you around, I guess."

Her nonchalance was forced, clearly, in Kousei's eyes. And was that interest, that he saw in her eyes? He supposed that he would never know.

And they walked into the back room to wait for the results of the competition.

The third set of performers were plain looking compared to the last set; two asian men in their late twenties. They were announced onstage, and Kaori and Kousei wished them good luck.

They both nodded their thanks before their expressions went stony. They then walked out onto stage.

"Yikes… they seem rather serious about winning, don't you think?" Kaori winced, remembering that expression.

"Oh, definitely. They probably have a large stake in winning this, after all. Unlike us, this is probably most of their income." Kousei had analyzed the situation quite well.

For indeed, the two young performers from Thailand were so desperate because the first-place winner got 60,000 Danish krone, almost 10,000 U.S. dollars. They needed that money to help support their families.

And they were spectacular musicians, but as Kousei listened, he realized that the pianist was likely self-taught. He might only know this one song, in fact.

Danse Macabre.

They filled the air with the sounds of death.

In the darkness that was the Void of Sin, Death stirred from his dark throne, if you could call it that. It was the only chair in the Void of Sin, period. And he was stirring for one reason only. It was almost time for his creation to act. And if a song praising him was being played, why not show up himself?

He moved, and like the origin, he was amongst the living. He was backstage, too.

Kousei and Kaori immediately buckled. The gravity was two-fold in an instant.

Kousei just turned his head towards Kaori in disbelief. "What's going on?"

And then Kaori saw him. He was almost entirely see-through, but he was there, some twenty feet away. The spectral form of what only could be described as Death.

He was just a humanoid, grey shape with a cloak.

He didn't shine like the Origin. He absorbed the light around him.

One thing was for certain. He had a presence when confronting the living.

Because their bond was doing its best to tell them to get out.

He turned to face them. Usually, unless the mortals were near dead, they couldn't see him. But these two couldn't just see him, but they could clearly feel him, too.

"You two ...can see me? I didn't know anyone still could."

He saw that they were both relatively healthy. But then he saw the strand connecting their souls.

"Ah. A pair of bonded. The fact that you can see me makes much more sense now."

And then he felt the music which was keeping him there vanish, and he was forced back into the Void of Sin.

They heard a final whisper.

"And Kaori? Enjoy your last day alive."

The two performers exited the stage, and they looked hopeful. The crowd had seemed impressed, after all. They actually had a chance. The crowd had applauded them, after all.

Kaori and Kousei understood the situation a little better. The piece wasn't an appropriate one for a competition at all. It was about death, and was dissonant, rather than consonant, making it hard to listen to.

The applause had been awkward at best.

As the two men strode past them, Kaori gave them an encouraging nod.

They seemed happy enough.

And they, too, proceeded to the back room to wait for the results.

The fourth pair of performers were a young couple. A young man with light hair was the violinist, and a young woman with blazing red hair was the pianist.

They seemed very much in love. Almost overly so.

They were… average. There wasn't an overly interesting piece being played, and they seemed like the weakest performers so far. They were getting distracted by each other, and their performance started to fall apart. They ended with a powerful chord, but their overall performance was rather weak.

They received some applause, but the crowd was a tough one that day, to be certain.

They walked out, and Kaori was struggling to keep calm until Kousei literally shoved her back to alertness through their connection. And for the first time, he spoke a full sentence through the bond, though it was difficult.

" _I'm right here, you know."_

And with that, her everything was suffused with warmth.

And they were announced.

"And I now present to you, Kaori Miyazono and Kousei Arima, with their performance of "Tango Tzigane: Jalousie!"

They looked at each other, and then synced. The whole room started to turn gray, in the eyes of one man, and as Kaori struck the first note, Matthew Poulsen's surroundings changed.

And Kaori played, indeed.

The killer heard the music, but saw only the forest where he'd committed his first crime.

And as Kaori played the last phrase of the beginning strain, Poulsen felt like he was being shot when she played the last three chords.

He was backed up against a tree, overlooking himself committing that first crime. And their illusion forced him to feel bad about it. They were giving him a conscience. Would it work?

Kaori looked out into the crowd and saw Poulsen shiver in his seat, before the illusion finally gripped him in earnest. It was time to give him a scare.

As the scene changed, and Kousei started playing the main melody with both hands on the bass side of the piano, Poulsen saw his youngest victim dying. He felt himself getting sick to his stomach. Each note forced him more into place. He tried to move, and just barely was able to get out of his seat. But then gravity slowly increased, and he was forced to sit back down. And the best part was that Kaori and Kousei knew only of six of his crimes, so they had to make the most out of what they had.

Kousei grimaced as he played. He wasn't enjoying the imagery any more than Kaori was.

It was intense, as he moved back from the melody, as Kaori took the spotlight once more. The crowd was loving every bit of their musicianship, especially during a Danish piece.

And then Kousei stopped playing altogether, at Kaori's cue.

She played with a vicious ferocity, and it felt to Matthew Poulsen that he'd just been slapped.

The scenery for him changed again, as the song switched from normal D minor into something of Kaori's own design.

It was a section where the song went into D flat minor, as opposed to D minor.

And as such, the timbre of the piece turned darker, more violent.

And Matthew Poulsen was forced to watch himself fight against the athletic fifteen year old he'd killed when he was twenty-three.

She had almost been able to match him.

And as Kaori and Kousei seemingly fought over who played louder, the killer was forced to watch how he'd overpowered the young woman.

And he nearly vomited, watching her be strangled to death.

" _Why am I feeling like this? I never feel guilty!"_

And he received no answer other than Kaori's grim smile up on stage.

The illusion ended. And as the piece turned to D Major, he was allowed to leave.

They couldn't force him to stay for the whole performance, so he just got out of his very convenient aisle seat, and Matthew Poulsen left the concert hall, rattled beyond belief.

Kaori and Kousei then focused the end of their performance on the love they felt for each other. It produced an end truly befitting this part of their journey. They ended powerfully.

And as the crowd gave a standing ovation and they bowed, Poulsen was busy vomiting outside the concert hall, into a trashcan.

And as Kaori turned toward him and everyone watched, Kousei went down on one knee.

He pulled a box from his pocket. Kaori thought: _"No fucking way."_ A wry smile appeared on her face.

"Kaori, will you marry me?"

A slight pause. Her smile turned genuine.

"Yes."

And the crowd went wild.

By the time they were done cheering, the two were ready to depart from the stage.

The judges were flabbergasted.

"This is a first," one said to the others.

"But not an unwelcome thing, yes?" An older, wiser man said. "Any amount of love this world gains is a beautiful amount."

And everyone agreed, as Kaori and Kousei left the stage, that they seemed like the two happiest people on the planet.

And in that moment, they might as well have been.

A rattled man lied in wait, sitting outside the concert hall, for when he could catch the two of them off-guard.

The nettles in the garden out front stung his legs slightly as he shifted through them, making his way back to the door out front. He was going to make them pay for giving him a conscience. Because now he couldn't make that conscience disappear. He, in that moment, was the most tortured soul that would ever be. He just wanted everything to stop. He was so angry. But he couldn't stop the guilt.

"How dare they do this to me! How dare they make me feel bad? I'm the most prolific serial killer in all of Denmark, and they made me feel remorse!"

He shouted this to an empty garden, so did he make any sound at all?

Kaori and Kousei were receiving words of congratulations and didn't notice the door of the lobby open.

Kousei went to go to the bathroom, and that is when the killer struck.

He was fifty feet away when both Kaori and the bond screamed.

"Ah! Get off me!"

"Stop struggling or I'll _slit your throat!"_

The Origin had been waiting for this moment. He sat on his throne, at the moment. But once again, he stood.

And he was there, in one step. He stopped time. He leant in to Kousei's ear, and whispered.

"My first-born, your loved one is in danger. This is your only chance to save her."

With that, Kousei unfroze. His eyes glowed with the light of the Origin.

And he essentially was right in front of Poulsen in an instant.

Poulsen thought one thought as Kousei's first fired toward him at fifty miles an hour: "Wow that's moving really quick-"

And then Kousei's fist impacted his jaw, snapping his neck from the overwhelming force.

He died immediately, and his soul fled from his body before being dragged through dimensions into purgatory, where he'd be sentenced.

His physical body started to turn cold, and as the bruising of his neck started, the people watched, almost melancholy at the sight.

They understood that what Kousei had done was justified.

But they didn't like it.

Author's notes:

Thank you to all reviewers!

Next Chapter:

Home at Last!


	11. A Sibling's Attentions

Chapter 11: A Sibling's Attentions

Their flight home was just as accommodating as the flight there, Kaori and Kousei found.

They were still offered drinks, which they readily turned down, this time.

But Kousei wasn't looking forward to this flight. He wasn't looking forward to anything right now. He'd killed someone. He looked exhausted and worn-down, his expertly put-together outfit not hiding his tiredness.

"Hey, Hon. Should I feel guilty about...you know?"

His eyes, usually so alive, were tired and unexpressive.

Kaori didn't really know how to respond, other than by grabbing his hand and reveling in the feeling of him being next to her.

"I'm right here, you know. You're not alone in this."

Her eyes were alive and sparkling, like the surface of the ocean on a bright day.

They had an attendant come by and set up their beds; it was time to settle in for the night, after all. This flight definitely would be outside their price-range.

And Kousei thought back, as he and Kaori settled into the warm cotton sheets.

The people at the embassy hadn't been impressed when Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono had been brought in.

The woman in charge understood that it was an accident and that he had been defending his fiance. But he still had to spend a night in a jail cell while the Japanese and Danish authorities argued over what would be done. And Kaori sat outside his cell, unceasing in her conversation with him the entire time.

That is, until she fell asleep.

It only took him a few minutes before he fell asleep too.

And from there the Japanese embassy agents had to escort them everywhere they needed to go. To go get their luggage, to the airport, everywhere. It had been annoying, but a prison sentence would have been far more annoying.

And in between the time that they had to go home and when they were released, they visited the grave of Matthew Poulsen.

The graveyard had been relatively full, but it hadn't taken long to find his grave.

There had been a woman already there, weeping.

She looked over at the two of them, teary-eyed.

They understood who each other were.

She was an older brown-haired woman, with Czechoslovakian features. She spoke in broken english; "So you're the one that killed the monster that my child had become."

Kousei had nodded.

Despite her tears, the mother had then thanked him for ending his reign of terror.

She had always suspected him to be the culprit in the disappearances of those children, but she'd never had any proof.

After going into his apartment, she'd had plenty.

Bones in a vat. Hydrochloric acid, undiluted.

She had known immediately.

The bone fragments found had been id'd to twelve different missing children.

And she wasn't glad her child was gone. But she had been glad that he couldn't harm anyone else's child.

For the couple that was settling in on their flight home, they were rattled physically and mentally. They were done.

Kousei looked at the woman that he nearly lost. And he was so grateful.

She met his gaze quizzically at first, still digesting his thoughts; upon finally understanding, she smiled.

They were holding hands, even as they fell asleep.

The two of them slept through the remaining six hours of the flight and were grateful to be on the ground in Sendai.

They exited the plane, with its luxurious interior, and exchanged that set of sights and sounds for the hustle and bustle of Sendai airport.

Kousei was once again dead on his feet, exhausted past the point of normal thought. Driving the two home was Kaori Miyazono, and while she wasn't happy about having to drive, she certainly wasn't letting a half-asleep person do it.

The route home was short and quiet, basically a ten-minute drive to their suburban home. A short drive on a highway that spanned the whole city. Their exit came up, and she pulled off, glaring when a minivan cut her off.

She wasn't an angry driver by any means. But that was just her driving style. Non-aggressive.

She was just an average driver, and as she pulled in to their home's driveway, she was glad to be done with driving for the day.

*3,700 miles away, on another island*

A small Monte Carlo, painted light green, pulled into the driveway of a light-colored beach-house.

A young woman helped her twin unpack the car, as their mother went to the front door to unlock it.

Violet and Eric Davidson were energetic as they re-entered the house on the last load of luggage. Violet specifically was so excited to get in the water again, she was shaking with excitement.

She rushed up the landing to her room. She opened her door, and her hair brushed against the sign she had painted a few years ago. It read "Violet's Room," and had a violet on it, her namesake. She had thought it was funny at the time. It still made her chuckle every time she saw it.

She stripped, her travel outfit being simple enough to take off. Just some leggings, which slid right off her long legs, and a blouse, which came off readily. No jacket, as they didn't need jackets where they lived. Unless it was a raincoat. It loved to rain in Hawaii.

That left her in just her unmentionables. Which she quickly stripped off leaving her nude for a few brief moments.

Her brother passed the door during those few moments of nakedness.

They made full-on eye contact, before he just moved on to their shared bathroom for his shower.

As he walked away, she shouted after him, jokingly; "Hey! Take a picture! It'll last longer!"

She couldn't see him blushing. She never saw him blushing.

Eric thought one thought to himself; _"I'm glad to have a sister like her, but does she have to look so…"_

The "hot" was implicit in his own thoughts. He felt so wrong for finding her attractive.

Even though they hadn't really met until the age of twelve when their parents remarried.

She grabbed her board, and as the sun reflected off her svelte, athletic body, outlined by her swimsuit, she got many looks. She always did. Violet Marilyn Davidson was hot, and she knew it. She had one or two things about herself that she didn't like. But she knew that she got looks from men, and frequently.

From her long legs to toned stomach and arms, she was the picture of athletic grace. And while she was an extremely chaste person, she couldn't stop looking the way she did. She tied her hair back, standing a few feet before the water's edge, putting down her surfboard before doing so. She hated having to put her hair in anything, preferring it down. But she couldn't have her hair in her eyes if she was going to be surfing.

Her mother had told her to always keep her hair up while surfing.

She understood the need to always have complete visibility. Once, before getting that advice, she hadn't seen a piece of reef, and had nearly died from the blood loss that occurred after slamming her neck into that same piece of reef.

A man on the beach, named _Markus_ , had alerted her brother to the accident, and then had promptly disappeared, after helping to rush her out of the water. They had never been able to thank him. He had simply been there one moment, and then had been gone in the next.

It had taken doctors twenty-three stitches and three hours to ensure that she would survive the night at all.

The scar stretched from the right side of her collarbone to the middle of her neck, underneath her chin.

She readied herself; "Come on Violet, you can do this. Let's go!" She started paddling out to the waves that she so loved to ride.

She never saw her brother, watching her from the family patio, sixty feet back, away from the waterline.

Eric smirked, and then grimaced, turning away from the sight of her. It wasn't healthy, finding her attractive. And he knew it.

*twenty minutes after arriving home, back with the main cast*

The two were inside by now, unpacking lazily. They were tired, but not overly so.

Kousei needed a nudge through the bond about every few minutes to stay awake, but Kaori found it much easier to remind him to stay awake than it would be to have to wake him up.

Kousei was putting their unmentionables in the laundry when she noticed how weak their connection was. They were probably so overextended that they didn't notice.

She had to drag him to bed, after forcing him to get into his pajamas.

"Get in bed NOW, Kousei Arima! March!"

"...fine."

And if someone had been outside their house, they would have seen the lights turn off, and they would have heard all conversation cease as the two fell into an exhausted sleep.

Violet and Eric sat out on the patio, a tension extending between the two. They had been arguing over what to have for dinner, and Violet had eventually won out over her twin.

" _Why are her puppy-dog eyes so effective, damn it?"_ Eric thought this, very much to himself.

" _Why do I have to find her attractive?"_

Violet never even looked up from her romance novel, entirely submerged in a new story.

She looked happy, content.

And Eric's irritation faded. His twin may be a dork, but she was a lovable one, to be certain.

The front door bell rang, and Eric ran around the side of the house to pay for the pizza, and after tipping the delivery man, he carried it around to his elated sister. Like many other normal people, she enjoyed pizza.

With the pizza coming into view, she finally put her book on the coffee table between them.

She said, "And you paid, too? I love you."

His heart fluttered a little.

They slipped into a companionable silence.

She posted a picture of him on her ChatSnap story.

"On a date. Kind of nervous."

It showed the pizza box between them, and him smiling.

Eric made a joke, and they both laughed.

Violet never saw the blush gracing his cheeks.

It was the same as always. Life was already back to normal.

He was glad for it.

Her brown eyes were filled with contentment as she bit into her first slice.

"Eric, I'm glad that you're my twin. I wouldn't want anyone else to be so close to."

He was biting into his own first slice, after waiting for her to take hers.

His eyes widened, but she didn't see it. Eric was incredulous at that statement. But then his surprise turned to joy, as he agreed out loud; "I wouldn't want anyone else to be so close to, either. You're fucking amazing."

Her eyebrows furrowed playfully; "I've told you how I feel about that word. But since you're using it to emphasize how great I am, I'll let it slide, just this once."

She stretched, arms reaching out toward the dimming sunlight.

He raised his right eyebrow; "Yeah, you've told me you don't like the word _fuck_ because you've never done anything sexual before."

She flinched when he said it again. The next thing he knew, Eric felt a piece of pepperoni hit his forehead dead-center.

He let it slide off. It hit the ground with a *plick* sound.

"That's for saying it again." Her eyes were mischievous, and her expression was full of happiness.

She wore her heart on her sleeve. And so did he, Eric realized. She was just oblivious when it came to him.

"You're such a dork, Eric. But you have _some_ redeeming qualities, I guess. Don't be going and getting a big head, but you're an amazing pianist, since I haven't told you that today. You're also the best athlete that I know of. Once again," she said, reaching over to grab his arm, "don't get a big head."

She grabbed his arm. And he blushed. And for once, Violet did notice. And she was confused.

"What are you blushing for?"

He was caught!

"Um… I don't know. We generally don't get this...intimate in our conversations." He looked away.

Violet understood, then. And she wasn't mad at all. They were around that age, she supposed.

" _And it's not like I'm bad looking."_

So, Violet wasn't that annoyed. He would probably find most young women attractive.

And he was around her a lot.

She was reminded of her own crush. That man. Kousei Arima. The pianist from Japan, who wasn't Japanese looking.

She thought he was handsome, even with the dorky glasses.

He had been so passionate, on stage with his now-fiancé. Violet was jealous... she wanted to go out on a date with that man.

She might be ordinarily pretty chaste. But her thoughts were getting mildly hot.

Eric had been waiting for about a minute while she thought and had been looking away from the depth of her dark eyes as she stared at him, zoned out. Her face filled with color, and he happened to look back at her.

Eric noticed her blushing and spoke up.

"Now why are you blushing? You never blush."

She answered him simply.

"Not because of you, even if you are cute. I was thinking of that Kousei Arima man."

He frowned, and she saw his hopes figuratively fall through the floor.

"It feels wrong, you know. No one wants to find their sibling attractive."

And he'd said it. Her face filled with shock.

Time stood at a stand-still for just a moment.

And then that shock turned into an accepting smile.

"Eric. I understand what you mean. But me? There's so many more women out there. There's so many better-looking women out there, too. You can do better."

A brief pause.

"If you want to go on a date with a girl, I'll set you up with one of my friends."

His facial expression was one of disbelief.

"Are you not mad? I'm your brother and I think that you're attractive. Isn't that weird?"

His face was desperate for understanding.

"Yeah. It is weird. But not abnormal, when you're a teenage guy that's never...been sexually active." Her eyes were joking, but the rest of her expression was largely serious.

"My offer still stands. I know for a fact that Steph thinks you're cuter than anything else. And you used to have a crush on her. Don't even try to deny it, Eric!"

Eric was shell-shocked. She didn't think any less of him, even though he thought she was hot?

Violet had been even more shocked. But all was forgiven.

And as the pizza cooled in between them, the conversation turned less taboo.

Life kept moving on, even when the players in the game stopped moving.

They had all stopped moving forward, for the moment.

As the waves pushed at Japan and Hawaii, as one couple slept, the other two relaxed and ate their fill, their minds filling with purer topics.

Violet's last thought before the sunlight disappeared altogether: "How can I meet Kousei Arima again?" 

Kaori and Kousei slept peacefully, their bodies' energies renewing through their peaceful slumber. But their bond twitched, as if indicating that a new adventure would soon start.

Author's notes: Please consider reviewing if you found this chapter to be a good addition!


	12. Her Hands, Her Embrace, And Her Eyes

Chapter 12: Her Hand, Her Embrace, And Her Eyes

Kousei awoke to a beautiful sight. His eyes sung for the beauty that awoke him.

His fiancé, Kaori Miyazono, the apple of his eye.

She had just prodded him awake.

Who then leant over him, and smacked one of his cheeks.

"Wake up! It's passed eleven." Her eyes were full of something, but Kousei couldn't see the best, yet. He hadn't put on his glasses yet.

He proceeded to put them on, and when he did, he saw that their thread had swelled to the size of a rope.

She waited for his reaction and got it when his eyes widened. "It's a bit bigger than before, huh?"

Kousei, still very much groggy, spoke without thinking; "Not the first time you've ever said that to me."

And with that, Kaori walked out of their bedroom, rolling her eyes.

"If you want brunch, there are some semi-edible eggs to be reheated in the microwave. We still need to go grocery shopping, anyway. So, if you have any requests for this week, speak up now, mister." She shouted all this back at him as she walked away.

And Kousei had no opinion on anything other than what he was ready to eat; unsurprisingly, her cooking wasn't on his list of things to eat, and as he got up, he shouted back; "I think I'll skip the eggs today, hon!"

Kaori chuckled to herself in the kitchen, dropping the eggs she'd been holding over the waste can into the trash. She knew he wouldn't want her cooking, especially if it was half a serving of eggs.

And their bond being stronger meant a few things, which both had already figured out. They could partially read each other's minds, even when being blocked out. They could understand emotions in a gradient, or mixed feelings better. And they knew when they were being thought about by the other without having to feel out the situation.

And as Kaori walked back to the bedroom to see whether he was out of bed yet, she was met by the sight of him, already getting dressed.

Surprised, she didn't know what to say before he communicated both out loud and in her head at the same time.

"Get dressed. We're going out."

And go out they did.

*south side of Oahu, Hawaii*

Violet awoke to a less beautiful sight. Her own room, still messy after unpacking.

Her seafoam-green sheets parting, she pushed her feet out, and hit the ground of her grey shag carpet.

She stood and examined herself in her full-length mirror.

Her pajamas being light and easily taken off, one shoulder was already pushed down the side. Her own scar in the mirror was exposed, in all its ragged ugliness.

The wound hadn't been a pretty one, even after all those stitches.

She didn't really like her own scars in the mirror, either. _"Some things, you just learn to deal with, I guess."_ She thought this, tracing up and down the scar tissue with her right index finger.

She heard her brother in the shower. "Darn, he got in there first today."

Her whisper was heard by no one other than herself.

Their parents were almost never around. It had been scary at first, when the two of them started to take extra shifts at the hospital, where they were both surgeons.

She slowly walked down the staircase, and looked for the tell-tale note of absence from her parents on the island in the kitchen.

She found it, a yellow sticky note on top of a container of still-warm breakfast foods.

She smiled at the clear love put into the note. Their parents never liked to leave them home alone, but sometimes it was necessary. As she finished reading the note, the water upstairs stopped running.

He was out of the shower, and Violet was in good mood today. She was ready to start her day.

She walked back up the stairs, and was promptly hit with the sight of her brother, in between his room and the bathroom, stark naked.

He turned and looked at her and said, "Take a picture. It'll last longer," and continued on the way to his room.

His use of her own words against her did not help her already pink, blushing face.

And she would have that image stuck in her head all day, now. She just didn't know it yet.

*Back to the main cast, 1:00 PM*

They sat at a café a few blocks away. The delicate scent of cinnamon mixed with the overwhelming smell of coffee in the air.

Kaori was currently digging into a cinnamon roll. Kousei was eating nothing, deciding that he wasn't really in the mood to eat that morning.

Their bond was feeding each other their own independent thoughts, and they were both pretty annoyed, at the moment. Japan was going through a small typhoon, which meant they both were soaked after walking to the café.

They really just wanted away from this weather.

"I miss Denmark. This weather can go fuck itself." Kousei would have been in a rather foul mood, if Kaori hadn't been slamming him with love all morning.

It was remarkable how one person could make you feel so special.

They both felt the tone in the room shift as the rain slowed. The other couple in the building looked outside, and decided it was as good a time as ever to leave.

The sky was opening up. The rain had stopped.

Kaori saw Kousei smile a little.

She had been wondering if they already needed another vacation.

"Kousei? Are you alright?" She wiped off her hand, and grabbed his.

He waited a minute to respond, but did eventually answer her.

"...I suppose I'm alright. This weather has been terrible ever since we got home."

*In Hawaii, 2:00 PM*

The weather was as beautiful as always, and as per usual, the two siblings sat down to lunch at 2:00.

Violet was wearing a nice light-green sundress. It was more like a skirt on her, but she didn't mind. She looked down at her legs. _"It makes me feel cute, so why not?"_

Eric didn't know that he was agreeing with what his sister said, but he was; _"She looks cute, as always."_

They ate in companionable silence on the back patio, the soft breeze of the afternoon making the palm trees sway.

Their salads had been made by Eric, who felt pretty proud of them. It was a half-egg caesar dressing, using just the whites of the egg so he didn't poison them both. With some pesto, the salad was perfect.

And Violet certainly thought so, as she ate it, getting shivers from the new flavors. She may not look like someone that would enjoy food a ton, but she definitely was. It was part of the reason that she had to exercise so much, was to keep herself in shape.

"Hey. This is a good batch, Eric."

He nodded in agreement.

Eric was enjoying his own creation, too. He ate sparingly, almost not wanting to eat it.

He finished chewing. "Yeah. I'm pretty proud of it, actually."

Her expression changed to a sarcastic one. "Then enjoy it. Don't try and savor it. You can always make more."

"I mean, you're not wrong." He cracked a bit of a smile.

Her own smile mirrored his.

The breeze stopped, and they both ate, once again in silence, listening to the waves.

They occasionally made eye contact. It wasn't as awkward as it could of been. They were just enjoying each other's company.

It hadn't always been like this. When they had first met, their parents had to introduce them.

They had been twelve, and being introduced to a twin that acted nothing like him was weird.

They had actually met on this very patio. Their father, who Eric had known because of his weekend visits in to see his son, had brought Violet around the left side of the house, through the back gate, on the stone-brick pathway partially covered by sand.

"Eric, I have someone that I want you to meet."

Violet had peaked out from behind their father, and their eyes met for the first time.

In the present time, they had both finished eating.

Violet spoke up. "You want me to do clean-up today? Because that was awesome."

He blinked, broken out of the memory. "You're the best, you know that?"

"I am well aware. Now give me your plate." Her smile was wry.

The way their eyes met in that moment was similar to the first time, and they both knew it.

Neither said anything, but both smiled a little.

The breeze started up again, and both went inside, each tending to their own devices for the time being.

*Back with Kaori and Kousei*

They were listening to music together, and half napping.

A song by T-square came on. One of Kaori's favorites. Kousei went to skip it, not knowing it by its intro.

"Change it and I'll cut you." Kaori's voice was whispery, being on the verge of sleep.

Kousei flinched, his hand moving away from her phone. She grabbed that hand, and wrapped it back around her waist, where it belonged.

"This is cuddle time, Mr. Arima. No moving, alright?"

And the song's main theme kicked in, the soprano sax for once not rattling his ears.

He whispered into her ear. "I think I can understand why you love this one so much."

Her only response; "Just listen and you'll love it even more."

He heard the sound of classical piano. _"In a T-Square song? What the heck?"_

She responded through the bond, _"Mmhm."_

He whispered to her again; "I could see us performing this."

"Yeahhh." She drew out the word in an odd way.

And she fell into sleep, entirely contented.

As the sounds of "Play for You" rang throughout his mind, Kousei drifted off too.

And for once, there was no conflict in their lives at all. They'd made it.

They were finally happy.

*Hawaii, 4:00 PM*

Several hours had passed.

Violet's clean-up had only taken a few minutes. Doing the dishes was easy enough for her.

And Eric hated doing the dishes, so she figured that it was the least she could do, for a nice meal.

She sat on the couch, reading her newest novel. It was about two lovers separated by distance, and how they found each other again.

It wasn't the most realistic book she'd ever read, but in that moment, it was satisfying to her psyche.

Eric's playing echoed throughout the house, the soft waltz making her sway. He was really something, when you sat him at a piano.

"I mean I guess he's something without a piano too."

Her love for the world around her wasn't something she'd found by herself. It was something she'd found with him, learning how to play violin so she could play with him.

Everything seemed to be so much more colorful when she was playing.

She remembered the first time she heard him play. It seemed like yesterday.

She'd been sitting in her new room, trying to get used to life in the new place.

Her drawing had soon gone forgotten when she heard something beautiful.

The beginning of a piano piece that he was practicing for his jazz ensemble at school.

The song was called "Missing You," as she'd later learn.

It started simply enough, before a key change into the main section, and repeating. That's how Eric had thought of it at the time.

Violet had thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. It was delicate. It was full of finesse, and as it moved into his solo, her eyes had widened, and she'd gotten chills.

She dropped her drawing, and ran down to the foyer, where the big piano her father had shown her was.

She stood at the doorway, enthralled by the way he played.

His body swelled as he moved from one set of chords to next, connecting them melodically before moving into a diatonic run, rolling one chord before striking the next.

All she saw was a prodigy at the piano at work.

As the solo was coming to an end, his hands flew across the keys in a major-sounding arpeggiation.

She saw the love for what he was playing in his eyes.

And then he saw her, and stopped playing.

He didn't know how to react to her just yet.

Violet's mouth started to move, and so did Eric's.

They formed the same word. They spoke in unison:

"Hi."

Violet had started speaking at the same time as her twin, but had cut herself off.

That was the first time they'd ever spoken at the same time.

Violet and Eric didn't really know what to say to each other.

Eric didn't know, especially, since his mother had kept the existence of Violet a secret.

He knew nothing about her. So, he did the only thing he felt like he could do well.

He moved over on the piano bench and patted it.

"Wanna come watch?"

He was unanswered for a few moments, and turned away awkwardly, thinking his offer wouldn't be taken.

But then she plopped right down next to him; his eyes widened just the slightest bit, and he turned his head to look at her.

She was happy to watch, really. She had just been surprised at his offer.

She watched as he worked his magic once again. She wondered how many other things her life was missing.

She'd found music. But there were still other things to be found, and life would slowly unveil them, opening her eyes to the majesty that laid just beyond her reach.

Back in the present, Eric had since stopped playing, and was moving downstairs.

He came down dressed in his swimming trunks, and moved to the back of the house, heading towards the shore.

Violet just sat, and continued reading, her violin upstairs, unplayed since they'd gotten home from Denmark.

*Back with Kaori and Kousei*

Kaori had brought her fiance outside with her, and they were sitting around their firepit, everything having since dried from the fierce sun that had been unveiled after the storm passed. They were just enjoying themselves, as the day had turned pleasant enough.

They weren't really needed anywhere that day, and relaxing was on their schedules.

They felt a breeze kick up, and they loved it.

"Wow, that feels nice, now doesn't it?" Kaori's eyes closed appreciatively as she felt the wind caress her body.

"Yeah. I love being with you more, but I get it." Kousei was appreciative of her and the life he was able to lead with her, now.

They hadn't a thing to worry about.

And all was well.

*Hawaii, 9:00 PM*

"He came back from the water an hour ago. Why hasn't he been down for dinner?"

His dinner, which she'd made, was getting cold in the microwave.

She figured that he would come down eventually. But he hadn't. So she stepped onto the ground, and moved towards the stairs.

Eric was in his room, calming himself down from his exercising. He hadn't really been hungry, after all the movement he'd done. He finally was free of the sensory problems caused by saltwater in the nose, and could smell faintly that Violet had made dinner. _"Go down and eat what she made for you, idiot."_

He got to his door just as she opened it.

She smacked him in the face with the door.

"Ow! Violet?"

She apologized. "I'm sorry! I should have knocked! Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. It's fine." He patted his head. "We both know how hard-headed I am, right?"

"I'm guessing you're ready for your dinner, then?"

"I couldn't smell anything until a few minutes ago. Sorry. I couldn't smell your amazing cooking until now."

She smiled, and they both headed downstairs.

Her happiness was a contagious thing.

He had finished his dinner, despite it being cold, in only a few minutes. Everything she made was so much better than what he made.

He then received a text from his father.

He alerted Violet; "Hey Vi!"

She looked up from her book. "What's up?"

"I got a text from Dad;'We won't be getting home until tomorrow morning. Feel free to settle in for the evening, or if you get permission from your mother, go out for the evening. But stay safe.'"

"And? That's pretty normal for them on a saturday night."

"I was thinking about going swimming in Waikiki tonight. Want to come with?"

She pondered this, before answering; "If mom gives us the okay to go swimming, then, yeah. That sounds like fun."

She thought to herself, but accidentally said out loud as he left to get another pair of swimming trunks:

"Especially if it's with you."

He froze in the stairwell, slightly turning his head back.

"Thank you." She didn't see how happy that made him.

She supposed that she should get ready too. So, she grabbed her bookmark from the arm of the love-seat she'd been sprawled on, and marked the appropriate page.

She then got up, stretching her arms forward and flexing her back muscles.

She went up to her room and changed quickly.

She chose one of her favorite swimsuits. A two-piece that tied which was white with light purple, royal blue, and dark pink orchids on it.

She quickly tied it on, and put on some normal clothes back on top of it, grabbing her hair tie, and tying her hair back.

She looked at herself in the mirror, and she had to admit that she was looking better than usual, with khaki shorts over the bottom half of her swimsuit, and wearing a shoulderless top over her top, leaving it unbuttoned to reveal her midriff.

When she walked into the living room where her brother was waiting, his eyes bugged out of his head.

She did look good.

And here he was, in swim shorts and a t-shirt.

"You...look nice," He said, not altogether awkwardly.

"Thanks. Ready to go?" She eyed his outfit, and noticed that he didn't even have his sandals on yet.

"No. Give me a second to get my shoes on, and we'll be good to go."

She watched as he left the family room to go get his shoes. He didn't look that bad himself, she figured to herself.

She didn't want to encourage him. But she didn't want to not respond in kind in saying that he looked good too, so when he got back she told him; "You look nice, too."

He looked confused, if happy, by what she said. "You have all of your stuff ready?"

She gave her purse and duffle bag (which contained the towels) one last look-through before saying in the affirmative: "Yeah. You have money to get onto the beaches on that end?"

He raised an eyebrow; "Of course. We did come in second place in that competition. I'll have spending money for a while yet."

She rolled her eyes; "Mom said we should put that money in our savings, Eric. Not use it on beach outings."

"But she didn't say _not_ to spend it on beach outings, did she?" His whole face screamed 'rise to my joke bait.'

But she wasn't having it, and turned away. "Leaving," she said, walking out the door. He of course followed her, catching the front door as she moved through it and onto the front porch.

He let her open her own car door, just for that. Normally he would have opened it for her.

By the time they had gotten on the highway, they were both in good spirits and joking around.

He was an aggressive driver, and they were both lucky that one officer didn't blare his lights at them. They reached the most popular private beach in Waikiki at around 11:00.

They got out of the Monte Carlo, which was actually Violet's car, and paid the ten dollars each to get in.

There weren't many people there, to their benefit.

They set up their towel, and Eric was the first to take off any clothing, which were his shoes and shirt.

The white sand was like glitter in the moonlight, and felt soft on his bare feet.

The waves shone with a bright white, the full moon's reflection reaching the water.

Violet stripped herself down, too. She left her shorts on for the moment, though. Her swimsuits colors were muted in the half-dark of the night, and as she walked toward her twin, she noticed the moon.

"Wow that's really full tonight, huh?"

"Yeah. It's really something, isn't it," He was about to suggest something, when she was suddenly shoulder-to-shoulder with him, on his left, in between him and the water.

"Want to take a walk?" Her suggestion took him by surprise. She usually went straight for the water.

She thought about taking his hand long and hard, biting her lip; she was unsure of how he'd react.

But she did it anyway. "Come on, Eric. Walk with me."

And walk they did, and not once did Eric let go of her hand.

In fact, as the water crashed down a few feet to their left, he gripped it all the tighter.

They walked a few more steps before he saw her ready herself to say something.

A few more steps.

She started to speak.

"I don't want to encourage you on the whole 'liking me' thing, Eric. It's not okay. But I care about you a lot. Which is why I'm willing to give you a little taste of what going out with me would be like. Which is what we're doing right now, if you couldn't guess."

He was silent for the next ten feet or so.

"I understand that. Thank you. It means a lot to me."

And they continued walking.

And walking, as the tide swelled.

Walking, still holding hands.

Walking, until they reached the pier which had been distant only ten minutes ago.

She pulled him up the steps and led him to the end.

They leaned on the railing and finally let go of the other's hand, and as the moonlight washed over them, they embraced.

They stayed that way, for a few minutes.

And when they pulled back, they were both satisfied.

" _Her eyes look so beautiful."_

Eric and Violet were finally happy.

Author's notes: I hope all the readers enjoyed this one, because I was excited to write it! Please consider reviewing if you thought it was well-written!


	13. The Regret of Markus

Chapter 13: The Regret of Markus

He had been a good man, in life.

Mark Xavier Quinn had been the son of evangelical types, who had taken him to church when he was young but weren't mad when he used Sunday mornings when he was older to work in the coal mines.

He was a hard worker, and his father had taught him that the true value of a man wasn't what he was willing to do to make a better world for himself, but rather what he was willing to do to better the world for others.

His father was also a coal miner, ten years since retired with black lung disease. He'd been sick for much of Mark's life.

Mark did his best to help support his family, and even gave away some of his wages to the church, to help support the ministry that had taught him his morals.

His life was always the straight and narrow.

Until everyone around him started to die.

His resolve had been tested when both of his parents died.

The house had burnt down, taking them both down with it. They both died of smoke inhalation.

But Mark stayed strong.

When his wife died, he died a little with her. But Mark stayed strong, and kept pushing forward, for their little daughter. Mary was a black-haired little angel, just like her mother had been.

The weeks of winter were cold and damp, and their house was never too warm.

Then his daughter got tuberculosis and she died, too.

One January morning, deep in one of the mines, he had been trying to work the pain of his losses away. He slammed his pickaxe down, and it struck a crucial point in the wall.

He heard a crack above him, immense pain, and then right before he disappeared, he thought of little Mary, who had never gotten to grow up.

And he died, crushed in that mine, all alone, his final tears unnoticed.

It was in Paradise where the scene next shifted to.

The room around the Origin shifted according to his will. He knew that Mark had died in a terrible way.

His creator saw the tragedy that his life had become, and took pity on him. He saw that Mark had always been strong and righteous, even through all the darkness that had consumed his life.

And the next thing he knew, there was light everywhere. The grey outline of a man stood before him. He glowed in a silvery light, casting a silvery wash across a portion of the room.

"...Jesus? Is that you?"

The figure spoke in two voices at the same time, in the interval of a perfect fifth.

"I suppose you could call me that, if you so desired."

The room around them was a throne room, but it was blank, aside from the section lit by the ambient light surrounding… Him.

"But I prefer to be called the Origin."

Mark's head snapped up. He was confused. "Are you not God?"

If a perfect fifth could chuckle, then the Origin did chuckle at that.

"No. Not as you know god to be. I am something far different, from what your bible describes."

The face of Mark was downcast at this.

"So after everything, he wasn't even real?"

The Origin wasn't disappointed at this reaction. It was quite normal.

"I can assure you, my child, that I am very real, and that I did create every single soul in existence. I'm just not what the books described, yes?"

Mark was silent for a moment.

"... That is about right. Generally God is more…"

"Human looking? That's because I am human looking, when I need to be. This is just what I naturally look like. Humans are like me in many ways. You just match me in many more ways than usual."

He gestured with his arm.

"Gaze upon your own life, recorded here, in this room dedicated to you. You're here because you were virtuous at every turn, and kind to even the most vicious animal."

Mark ruminated over this.

"But surely there are others like me?"

The Origin nodded. "There sure are others like you. But their lives were not filled with such tragedy as yours."

The Origin was suddenly right in front of him; "That, child, is why you are about to become an Angel, and why they will not be Angels."

The Origin placed one thumb on Mark's forehead, and one on his sternum.

Mark's everything flashed a brilliant white.

He thought he heard the tolling of a church bell.

And he was reborn.

His hair went from black to light brown, his eyes turned from brown to the grey of an Angel's eyes.

The shells inside him were being broken.

His inner potential spread and transformed into wings on his back and a halo of light surrounding his head.

The Origin spoke, removing his hands;

"The man known as Mark is no more.

Markus, rise, and look me in the eyes, my child."

That had been many years ago. More than a hundred years ago, in fact. Markus had been the strongest and fastest Angel to have ever been born so far.

He had been named the Emissary of Disaster.

He was tasked with preventing pointless death in the innocent and righteous. Deaths like his, where the suffering and violence of the death didn't match the virtuosity of the individual.

And he'd always been able to at least help the people in danger.

Almost always.

His room was an outcropping at the base of Heaven, far away from the others.

He needed to meditate constantly, recharging his spiritual force.

Some days there was more danger than others.

As he sat, remembering the days where 5000 messages daily were common because of natural disasters, he was glad that today was not one of those days.

He still felt regret over something, as he meditated. Usually that feeling went away when he meditated.

He was hit with a vision.

A young woman, tracing a scar that reached from the right side of her collarbone to the middle of her neck. She whispered, and it was like he was there with her as she spoke; " _Some things, you just learn to deal with, I guess."_

His eyes snapped open, his concentration shot. It felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

He turned to his consolum, or memory-accessor.

"Consolum. Pull up all unsuccessful saves."

The machine thrummed for a moment.

" **There are none, sir."**

"Pull up late saves?"

The machine thrummed once again.

" **One memory found. Would you like to view?"**

"Yes."

Everything turned white, before Markus was forced into a scene of past tragedy.

He had been meditating, sitting cross legged in the memory.

Then everything around him went a little grey, and everything around him stopped. Just stopped. He had been pretty surprised at this, not expecting a time stop to occur.

He definitely hadn't expected the Origin to suddenly tap him on the shoulder, whispering; "I can't hold time much longer. You have 10 seconds after I release it to get to Earth. Honolulu. South side, King Kamehameha beach. A young woman is about to die, if you don't get her a blood transfusion in time. Move. Full speed."

And then Markus had done what he had been told to do. And he moved at his top speed, immediately at 26,000,000 miles per hour.

He slammed some space debris out of his way, before entering Earth's atmosphere, cutting an orange and red streak through the atmosphere as the friction from his movement broke the oxygen and hydrogen apart, releasing a stupidly high amount of energy.

He streaked towards the place the Origin had told him to land, and pushing his spiritual force to its maximum to slow his descent, he locked in on the danger with his Origin-enhanced eyes.

It was indeed a young lady, surfing, and he could see the piece of reef she would impact with from a few thousand feet up, before making the final adjustment to his sight and speed to make his landing safe and be able to see after landing. He hit the ground less than a millisecond later, but he slipped because of the sand. This cost him a second of time, and he hadn't been able to use his abilities to knock her off course with air pressure. All he heard, with his hearing locked on her, was the faint sound of skin ripping and her trachea ripping partially open. His eyes widened, and he made himself look normal and visible in less than a second, rushing to her brother, alerting him to the danger.

"Your sister is in danger. We have to move now." He pointed out the spot, and a bystander called for an ambulance. Markus and Eric swum out to where she had already removed herself from the reef. The, a shadow next to the reef, and Markus noticed a fin jutting out of the water. There was a shark in the water. Markus took one look at how close it was to her and before Eric or Violet could notice it, he had been able to kill it and move back to his spot by dilating time and moving at top speed.

The wind suddenly whipped around them, a byproduct of Markus's movement. Of course, neither of them realized this.

Her wounds had started bleeding immediately after her trachea had been breached.

The water was turning red.

Terror of the worst kind filled her eyes. She was bleeding out while treading water, her hand clamped over her wound.

Eric was having none of it by the time he reached her. "Move your hand and prepare to be carried. Now, Violet." He clamped his own hand down on her ripped open neck, trying desperately to staunch the bleeding as the two of them moved her to shore. They had just gotten her to shore when they heard the siren nearby.

Eric's eyes filled with hope, the tears finally starting, his voice filled with desperation. "You're gonna be okay. You're gonna survive this. You're made of tougher stuff than someone that would just let go, right?" He was helping to keep his sister calm, and kept pressure on her wound. Her own eyes showed how scared she was, and she held on to him as tightly as she could through the pain.

He could almost see the life fleeing from her, and he couldn't do anything about it.

 _"Do something, you idiot! Do something! Do something!"_

Markus had put his hand on the boy's shoulder, seeing the breakdown he was about to have.

"Calm down...?"

"Eric. My name is Eric, Eric Davidson."

She was almost unconscious, and Eric Davidson was starting to panic even more when the ambulance arrived, the people in the lot scurrying out of the way.

Markus had started to edge out of the situation, trying to find a place to reassume his invisiblity. Eric noticed him trying to leave, and looked in Markus's direction. "What is your name?"

"Markus. We won't meet again. At least not for a long time."

Markus's eyes flashed dark grey. And he disappeared.

Eric was left with his sister's dark brown eyes filled with fear, and they were dimming quickly, her expression slackening by the second.

"Eric… can't…. Breathe," She managed to whisper out, in between gurgle-filled breaths.

He heard the creaking of a stretcher opening. The sound of wheel on sand. The medical staff ran up. "Get back! We've got the stretcher!"

Markus was on top of the ambulance by the time they started moving. His overwhelming strength meant that when the ambulance moved at full tilt towards the hospital, he didn't even flinch.

He then received his directive from the Origin, the words echoing throughout his mind.

" _No direct miracles. But if you need to stabilize her to ensure she survives until she can make it to surgery, I am authorizing it. Establish the inter-soul connection._ "

Markus's aura flared a brilliant grey as he reached out to her soul, and her soul reached out eagerly, knowing it was in need of help.

A tentative thread stretched between them, and her heart rate started to stabilize.

They were enveloped in the world of sky, for just a moment, and she saw him, facing downwards toward her.

He spoke.

"It's not your time just yet. You are loved. People still need you, here on Earth. Don't let go."

She nodded.

He knew what she was thinking, since their souls were literally touching.

" _I don't want to die, don't worry. I'm made of tougher stuff than I look, mister Angel."_

And now he was certainly breaking a rule or two by continuing to help her. But this one's soul felt like his. She was righteous, and pure.

She would be like him, one day. Turning his attention to her brother, he noticed that he too would be like him, as well.

They stopped moving.

And they had reached the hospital. She was stable enough, now, to let go of. But she had one more thought, a question.

" _Will we meet again?"_

He smiled a little.

"Yes. But not so soon, okay?"

And as he disconnected the thread, his memory stopped.

Everything was grey for a moment. And then he was back home, in his little outcropping.

The consolum prompted him;

" **Would you like to view another memory?"**

It awaited his response.

He spoke lightly. "Indeed. Give me the memory of Eric Davidson after they were done with the surgery."

The machine thrummed for a moment.

" **Awaiting approval from administrator..."**

A brief pause.

" **Access granted by the Origin."**

The room once again flashed a brilliant white, consuming him.

He sat at her bedside, in a chair that was too short for him. The room was rectangular, with a window showing a view of the city.

Its wallpaper was green with white stripes.

It was morning. The sun was rising, and she had just awoken to find Eric holding her hand, eyes puffy, like he'd been crying for a long time.

She blinked, her dark brown eyes widening with concern.

"Eric," she croaked out, "are you alright? What happened?"

He gripped her hand tighter, and his eyes filled with fresh tears. His face contorted into one of confused anger.

"You almost died, Violet. You ripped open your neck and throat on a reef you probably didn't notice. It's a good thing that piece of reef you were… pierced by didn't hit anywhere lower. As it was, the bigger problem was that you were quickly bleeding out. Someone helped me get you out of the water, and the ambulance was nearby, so you didn't bleed out right th-"

His voice broke, and he sobbed, after a moment.

His breathing was heavy with his crying.

Her eyes were filled with concern for him.

"Are you going to be okay?" She once again croaked out, insistently.

His grimace at the sound of her voice turned into a small smile, before drawing in closer, and just holding her.

He spoke softly, and she could tell that he was still crying as he said it; "If you're going to be okay, so will I. I felt like I was dying there with you, holding your wounds shut on that ambulance ride. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to have my best friend anymore. Don't scare me like that again, and I promise you that I'll never complain about anything you do ever again. Just don't die and leave me without the person I love the most!"

She mustered up the strength to sit up into his embrace. She was crying now, too. There was so much love flowing between them, a nurse could have sworn they saw a halo of light flashing around their heads briefly, before they both leaned back, looking into each other's eyes.

"It's okay Eric. I'm going to be alright," she whispered out, somewhat cleanly.

"Are you? Are you really here? I don't know if I can believe it. I love you, Violet, and don't you forget it. I couldn't stand having to stumble through life without you in it."

He leant into her, crying into her shoulder.

And as the memory turned grey at the edges, he heard her say one last thing.

"I love you too, Eric. I'd never forget you."

Even Markus found himself sobbing, when the machine was done.

"How can they be so... loving? Humans aren't supposed to be able to feel this way."

And the Origin himself was there, comforting his child.

"It is because their souls have known struggles like yours, and they didn't die. They understand what it means to be truly grateful for another person, because they know what it is like to almost lose someone."

Markus understood, then. "They love because they almost didn't have a chance to."

"Indeed, my son."

"And she almost died, father. She's so pure, and was almost ripped away from life."

The Origin paused, if only briefly.

"Yes. That is true. But if that had happened, do you really think I would have let her become an Angel yet? No. I would have reversed time, to give her the chance to grow. But I fear for what would have happened to her twin if she had actually died."

Markus thought on this, the tears still streaming down his face.

"...You can reverse time?"

"Oh, but of course. Reality bends to my whim, after all. And let me tell you this much. I would not let a soul as pure as hers just not reach its full potential."

And Markus was able to accept that, and the tears slowed.

And as the last tear fell from Markus's face, Violet Davidson slept peacefully, dreamlessly.

Eric Davidson slept, dreams of the people he loved running through his mind.

All of Hawaii was dark, but a mood of peace spread across the land.

The winds quelled themselves gently.

The tides grew ever smaller.

The bugs grew silent.

It was the Origin's reward to two beautiful, amazing people, who deserved a night of rest.

Tranquility.

Author's notes:

This should be the last chapter of back-story and side-characters.

However, Eric and Violet won't be going away any time soon, as the depth of their characters allows for interesting interactions, and they allow me to stretch the boundaries of what's okay and what's not in this fanfic. And while the romance between them is over, the awkwardness and physical attraction is not.

And that is what this fanfic is all about. Me creating a story of my own, even if I have to use someone else's story as a base.

I hope you liked it. Please review if you enjoyed it.

Ciao,

MeridianPine


	14. Falling Asleep with My Other Half

Chapter 14: Falling Asleep with My Other Half

Violet was surrounded by beauty.

Even though her eyes were closed, as she sat on their back patio, her back facing her brother's open window, she was surrounded by beauty.

He was playing again. Of course he was.

A tango, an accent falling on certain beats, and a stately air.

She could imagine him sitting there at his piano, a well-kept upright, and him vigorously clonking away. "But that clearly isn't him anymore," she said to herself.

Since their escapade, his everything had been changing. His playing, especially, was more full of a stern heatedness.

The prodigy had become a professional, at long last.

"Like a professional, huh," Violet said, looking at her laptop, and she knew Kousei's Facebook profile was just one search away.

One search later, and Violet had their info at her fingertips. They were a popular couple, and their performance in Denmark had trended on twitter a week ago.

She moved her finger on the fingerpad, clicking the link with the left button.

Her phone in her pocket buzzed, the sensation surprising her.

It was from their mother.

'I'm coming home with groceries. Please tell your brother to be ready."

Violet stood up, tensing her legs and stretching out her arms after having rested them for more than an hour.

She grabbed her laptop and went inside, setting it down on the island in the kitchen.

Strolling towards the stairwell, she hears her brother stop playing.

By the time she reaches the landing, he's halfway out his door.

"She texted me too. I'm ready." He briefly made himself go cross-eyed.

One of the corners out Violet's mouth quirks into a half-smile at his dorkiness.

"I have no clue how I'm related to you. You're such a dork."

He raises an eyebrow as they both move to descend the stairs.

"Says the one that can't keep her face out of a romance novel for more than ten minutes."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs before she spoke up; "That was a low blow."

"Is that a sex move from one of the novels? The low blow?" His words washed over her.

She blushes vigorously, grimacing at the same time. She turns toward him.

"...ah, why did you have to say that? Now I'm all red and blushy."

He was clearly amused by her reaction. "Because I can, and because you're adorable when you blush."

They were in the kitchen, the natural light from outside filling the room. It was a little undercast, as they had been expecting fog for the day.

Eric noticed a source of artificial light in the room.

It was her computer, and he saw Kousei Arima on the screen. _"She finally looked him up, huh,"_ he thought to himself.

He then verbalized this.

"So… you decided to look him up, huh."

Her face was one of surprise for a moment, and then was one of acceptance.

"Yeah. I did. I haven't worked up the courage to say anything yet."

"I get how you feel," Eric said, his own struggle coming to mind.

"Do you? What from?" Her brother had never really been one to have crushes, so she didn't know for who he was talking about.

"From what happened with you. It took me a while to even say anything at all. If you like him that much, go for it."

" _Of course you would see it that way."_ Her mind echoed with those words for an instant, before her expression softened. "And you aren't jealous at all?"

He grimaced. "I try not to be."

An awkward silence fills the room.

A car door slammed outside.

"I guess she's home."

*several minutes later*

All the groceries were now inside. Their mother, Meredith, is inside with them. She's a tall, slender woman who looks very much like an older version of her daughter. A perfectionist by trade, she is instructing them on where to put the groceries.

"Eric, put the freezer items downstairs in the basement freezer." He rushed off, carrying the one frozen pizza she had bought.

She turned to her daughter. "And who is this on your laptop? A crush, perhaps? Who's the lucky man?"

Violet froze. Her expression was blank.

"He's… taken. And if you must know, he was another competitor at the event in Denmark. I really want to talk to him, but I'm afraid he won't remember me."

Her mother was sympathetic. "So a real crush, huh? Well, I won't steer you away from just talking to him. And as if anyone would forget you," Her mother said with an amused smile.

She continued; "And the fact that you have a crush is adorable, but don't go getting your heart broken, now."

Violet half-smiled. "I'll try not to get myself hurt, mom. I'll try."

And that was all her mother could ask of her daughter.

By the time Eric came back up the stairs, they were done putting everything away.

And the day wasn't shaping up to be too bad, from his perspective.

It was going to be an extraordinary day. Neither of them knew why or how.

But it was.

Eric had gone back to his room.

He had decided to practice some Dvorak. "That folder is in the closet, I think," he said to himself.

And so it was.

It was near the bottom of the pile of music folders. Labeled "12," it was one of his oldest folders.

He opened it, finding music he hadn't played in half a decade.

Flipping through the folder, hitting the M's (as it was alphabetized), he found a treasure of his own past.

"Missin' You," the song he'd played for her that day in August.

He was brought back into his past, into a memory of long ago.

He stopped playing. The girl, no, his twin, sat next to him. Her expression was one of excitement and awe.

"...That was so cool. You're so cool, Eric!"

He blushed. "You liked it?"

"You made sounds that I can't even describe! How do you do it?"

There was a brief pause as he shrugged. "I've always been good with music. Especially on the piano."

Her brown eyes were expressive, he noticed. Every expression reached them, above all of her other features.

"I'm so jealous. Dad never had the money to get me more than the theory books. And I really can't understand them too well, without a teacher." She almost looked ashamed, and a little glum.

He thought to himself; _"I know theory. I could teach her that much."_

He spoke up. "I could teach you."

Her whole face lit up. She was shaking a bit.

"Will you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He said, confused at her reaction.

"Can I hug you?"

"I mean, I guess-"

He was hugged aggressively, almost being knocked off of the bench.

Back in the present, Eric smiled fondly. That day had been the first time they'd ever hugged.

She'd been so warm, but her hands had been cold.

He also remembered that he wanted to hold her hands, to warm them up.

And that had been how their mother had found them, with Eric warming Violet's cold hands.

Her hands were still cold, sitting at her easel, facing her back window towards the coastline.

Even though she'd grown up, her hands were still so damn cold.

She had been trying to paint for the past half hour, and despite her being talented at it in years prior, her sense of perspective was completely gone.

"Ugh," she said, putting her brush down. "Maybe later."

It was time for them to make lunch, anyway.

They met in the kitchen, both ready to make food.

And this left them in a self-imposed pickle.

Which was quickly resolved. "Hey. I know that I made lunch yesterday. But I'm feeling productive today, so can I help you?" Violet's voice resounded across the countertop.

He had been surprised, but accepted readily.

They started by prepping the shrimp.

Violet removed the shells while he removed the intestinal tract.

As they started on the pasta, their mom walked out the front door.

"See you later, you two! Behave yourselves! Love you!"

Their mother was boisterous sometimes, too.

The door closed, and they both let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

Their eyes met as they turned to each other, questioning.

Eric breached the silence first, with a subject he'd been meaning to ask about all morning.

"So are you going to message Kousei Arima or not? You've wanted to do it ever since mom got home, I can tell. But you've been hesitant. And that's not the bold, brave Violet that I know."

"Maybe I'm not as brave as you believe."

Her eyes were downcast.

"Maybe you just need to believe in yourself."

The kitchen was silent.

And it stayed that way, as they prepared their lunch.

At some point, Violet left with the utensils and plates to set up outside.

She came back in when she was done setting up. And Eric grabbed the pot, with the contents of their meal inside.

She tensed up a little as he walked past.

This was one of her favorite meals, and it was these heavier meals that she dieted the rest of the time for.

She realized that she looked a little odd, standing in the doorway after he'd already went outside, so she quickly moved to the other side of the glass table and sat down.

He opened the pot.

She shivered a little. "That smells amazing!"

He eyed her saucily. "Want me to plate it?"

"Yes…."

"Yes what, Violet?"

"Yes please!"

Her eyes were expressive as always. And she was trying to be sweet, too. It was a little much for Eric.

Who then even gave her extra shrimp when she asked for it.

He never gave her extra.

"Why'd you say yes?" She was obviously confused.

"You're being sweeter to me than usual so I am returning the favor. You're usually the sweetest person in my life already. So when you try to be nicer than usual, it's a real treat, Violet."

And it was her turn to blush, now.

He watched her face light up, before starting to blush.

And then she spoke.

"If the pasta wasn't already going to make my day, Eric, I think you just did."

Their eye contact was brief, but they both saw happiness in the others' face.

They started to eat quietly.

The mood around them was peaceful. They ate in silence.

And both were content. Because for the both of them, their favorite person was just across the table. And in that moment, they were completely grateful again. Like they'd been after Violet almost died.

Their silence was love. Their silence was peace. Their silence was appreciation.

The indulgence of the meal was just a compliment to the situation. They weren't decadent people, and their lifestyle was modest, if anything.

This was a treat, both in a food way and in a "quality time" sort of way.

Markus watched from about a hundred yards out into the ocean.

A demon was about to rear its ugly head.

He hadn't needed to fight in a long time.

But here he was, struggling to get himself up to the limits of his power before the gate under the water opened.

And the Hydra itself was going to be let loose.

He had to take it down himself.

The wind ceased.

The waves stopped.

A huge shape appeared under the water. It was further out to sea than him.

He could see that it was nearly as wide across as four city blocks, stacked side by side.

It slowly was rising to the surface.

"It's not supposed to be here yet! I'm not at full power!"

One of the heads was about to break the surface of the water.

He turned and looked back at the humans, full of innocence and love.

He couldn't let them die.

Without the support from the Origin (who at the moment was holding off Death the best he could without harming him), he probably wouldn't be able to win without destroying the human life on Hawaii.

He would regret a mistake like that for the rest of his existence.

"Well at least the human's minds aren't capable of seeing divine beings and creatures."

The first head broke the surface, it's ocean-blue scales glittering in the sunlight. Its eyes were black and fish-like, and the rest of its body stayed submerged. It was terrifying.

It was terrifying, because its pupils were as tall as Markus himself, and he was at eye level with it.

He readied himself.

He heard a whisper from the Origin in his ear.

"If you get backed into a corner, just break through your inner shell. That's the only advice I can give you."

As the words faded from the confines of his mind, the heads that were still under the water surfaced, creating a massive wave. That headed straight for Violet and Eric.

"No! Not them!" He shouted, darting around the tip of the wave.

He faced forward, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

He then punched the air in front of him, in the direction of the wave.

A small movement.

But even from 150 yards away, it still punched a hole clear through one of the Hydra's necks, disconnecting it, the friction from the force burning the stump and boiling the water around the impact zone.

The wave that had once been the size of a tsunami had been completely negated, its remnants crashing on the shore like a normal wave.

"Fight it from a distance, I suppose."

One of its heads had human eyeballs.

That was the intelligent head.

If he could just get rid of that head, he might be able to kill it without casualties.

The problem was when he went to try and fight from a distance, it was already essentially upon him, at the shoreline.

His eyes widened.

He'd been cornered.

Eric saw a wall, behind Violet, as they ate.

" _Since when was there a wall behind Violet?"_ He thought to himself.

He then happened to look up. He saw one monstrous eye before he decided to get the hell out of dodge, jumping out of his chair.

"What's wrong," Violet asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but how about we take a brief excursion to somewhere that maybe isn't here."

She noticed that his eyes were transfixed on the space far above a spot behind her.

She started to turn backwards. But he grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't. I won't be able to get you out of here if you're having a panic attack as big as the continental US."

She knew something was wrong then. She never had panic attacks, much less big ones.

She followed him to the monte carlo, and they drove off.

Markus breathed as much of a sigh of relief as he could.

He didn't have to hold back anymore.

He smiled in a small way.

His everything glowed with a piercing grey aura.

His Origin State was active, and he could end it now.

And so he did.

His aura filled with radiant blue and white sparks, his muscles gleaming.

He was quickly behind the monster, covered in viscous goop. Brain matter.

With one blow, he had slammed himself through the intelligent head's brain with relativistic speeds.

He watched apathetically as it faded into nothing.

The two of them had reached their favorite cafe and sat down when Eric broached the topic.

"So I think I might have seen a literal sea monster behind you. That's why we left."

She was shocked, and turned pale.

"Oh. Okay."

She said this even as she fell forward in a faint. He was able to catch her because they had been sitting side-by-side.

Their journey of being side-by-side had just begun, too.

As Eric woke her up, the scene fades out, and we find ourselves somewhere else.

The swelling of the Gymnopédie flowed through the household of Kousei and Kaori.

He was playing for her, and her head laid on his shoulder, her eyes closed.

There didn't need to be an illusion for this piece. It was simple enough, Kaori thought.

She was slowly being lulled to sleep.

The melody was popular and sometimes overused, but it was still elegant and aweing to hear when her Kousei played it.

It had been a quiet day, with neither of them working.

Her breathing started to steady itself, he noticed.

" _Looks like we're turning in early tonight,"_ Kousei thought to himself.

The final bars were approaching at its Adagio pace, and she felt herself let go of his hand as she finally drifted off.

*Back in Hawaii*

The two had returned home to find nothing out of place.

Their lunches, mostly eaten but cold, sat out, now featuring some sand in its composition.

They made sure to clean up quickly.

Eric was quick to point out that Violet was still shaky.

"Vi. Go inside and lay down. Your body just collapsed less than an hour ago. You shouldn't even be on your feet right now."

Her expression softened from its determined look into a worn smile. "I definitely don't feel well. I'll… go lay down."

Her exit from the patio was rough, almost tripping on the step leading to the inside.

But she caught herself, and while he was still wary of letting her walk around, Eric didn't want to embarrass her by walking her to the couch. _"She likes doing things herself. She's always been that way."_ His thoughts were certainly true.

The same athleticism that kept her so in shape was also a way for her to do something not influenced by her home life. She wanted to do something that would get her out of the house. Because even the beaches of Hawaii got boring after years of living there.

As he brought in the dishes, there she was. Slumped in a chair and breathing heavily.

He panicked, fear suffusing his body.

"Are you alright?", asked Eric, looking into her eyes. They were glazed over slightly. Her body really had stressed itself out.

He ended up carrying her up the stairs and laying her in bed, despite her weak protests that she was fine.

He tucked her in, and sat by her bedside as she calmed down.

Her look of appreciation and contentment as she fell asleep was worth the trip up the steps, to be certain.

Even as they closed, the color of her eyes, almost black with how brown they were, remained in his mind. How could something so dark be filled with so much light and love?

He would never know.

Some of her hair was covering her face and draping across the bed as she slept on her side, almost laying on one arm.

He moved it back behind her left ear, and she didn't move aside from the steady rise and fall of her chest.

If he would have looked closer, he would have seen the slightest hint of a smile after he moved her hair.

She was content.

He was content.

If you'd asked Eric what the best part of his life was, he would have lied and said music.

But if he ever deigned to answer you truthfully, he would have said "Violet."

And that was the truth, indeed.


	15. Warm Cuddles and Cold Hands

Chapter 15: Warm Cuddles and Cold Hands

Author's note: This is the last chapter of the Pre-Adventure arc. You'll get what this means next chapter. But until next time, sit back, enjoy the ride, and keep on reviewing! 

Her room was pitch-black when Violet woke up. Her alarm clock, all the way across the room, read 2:20 AM.

" _...really, body? This is no proper time to wake me up!"_

And then her stomach growled, like the wind blowing outside. The staccato plicks of the rain on the roof were clearly audible.

" _I guess it's storming again."_

She opened her door and lit the way with her small household flashlight.

A flash of lightning from the hallway window, accompanied by the steady rhythm of the rain outside, brought her back to a time when life was far simpler.

It had definitely been storming then. The hurricane had been blasting its way across Oahu at night.

She had been twelve, and had been very frightened when a window in her room cracked, waking her up.

A piece of metal close to the cracked frame glowed brightly, as the smell of ozone filled the air.

And Violet watched as lightning struck less than twenty feet away.

She was sent scrambling out of her room.

She went into her parents room crying and pale as a ghost.

But neither were home, both still at the hospital, working overnight hours.

She called her dad from the bedroom phone on his nightstand, explaining what happened.

She left a message when he couldn't pick up.

So she went to the only other person in the house. Her twin, Eric.

She was met by Eric as she left her parents room, him catching her after she ran into him.

"Are you okay? I heard your window break, and came to see if you were alright. But you weren't in your room."

He held onto her shoulders in the dark. "You scared me," he said, face briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning from the hallway.

He had looked so concerned.

"Thanks for catching me, Eric."

"Oh, yeah. You're welcome," he said, letting go of her shoulders.

If she had been able to see his face, she was sure that it would have been a sheepish smile, in that moment.

He decided that she wouldn't be going back to her room for the night. But only in his head.

She was the one that asked aloud; "Can I sleep in your bed tonight? I know it's probably weird," she said, abruptly stopping as she was cut off.

"Yes. You can sleep in here. But only until your window gets replaced."

Her secret was about to come out.

She loved cuddles.

She usually had to cuddle with herself nowadays, since her dad was always busy, and she wasn't that comfortable with her Mom, yet.

His bed was the only thing really lit up by his lamp in his entire room.

And it beckoned to Violet. So she jumped. And she landed smack dab in the middle of the bed, quickly rolling onto her back and getting underneath the covers, peaking just her eyes out from underneath the sheets.

"You're such a dork." She couldn't really see his face that well, but she could tell that he was smiling.

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!" she said this with the sheet held up in front of most of her face.

"I just happen to enjoy cuddling, and I got excited."

His smile got even more amused. "Well I guess I'll cuddle with you, since you got so spooked. But don't say that I never did anything for you. And move over, will you," he said, getting under the sheets as well.

They laid side-by-side. This was where their journey started, believe it or not.

They just didn't know it yet.

Because in that moment, Violet really loved Eric as a brother for the first time.

And he loved her as a sister for the first time, too.

He held one of her hands in his after it brushed against his left hand.

"So cold!" He was concerned. "Are your hands always this cold?"

She had been confused at first by the question, and tilted her head towards him, before answering.

"Yes. My hands always feel like how they do now."

If she had been looking closer at his eyes, she would have seen him looking rather determined.

He held one of her hands in his, and just kept it there.

Violet turned off the light of the lamp.

And then in the dark, all was well.

And for the first time, they really felt what familial love was like when it was with a twin.

Eric learned two things: He discovered that his sister gave very, very, warm hugs. And that a cuddle with Violet Davidson was a beautiful thing.

Back in the present, Violet remembered that evening fondly. That had been a favorite memory of hers for a long time.

She had a few saltine crackers in hand as she returned to her room, passing Eric's on the way.

His light was still on.

She opened his door to find him deep in sleep, but with his light on.

She turned it off for him and left, closing the door softly enough that he wasn't awakened.

He had been a light sleeper for the majority of his teenage life, and she knew better than to wake him up. He'd be really grumpy if she did.

Continuing on to her room, she passed the hallway window.

Something felt off.

When she turned back around, she found that someone was pulling themself inside.

Their feet hit the ground, pausing briefly before launching their whole body at her in a vicious tackle.

The wind flickered briefly, something flashing through the window.

As he got to roughly two feet away from her, everything turned grey briefly, and then slowed down.

And then he was there.

"And what do we have here," Markus the Messenger said, casually flicking the assailant into a wall. She heard a loud crack, and Markus's eyes flashed grey.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him.

He might have slowed everything else down, but she wasn't affected at all.

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you again soon?" He said, turning to her.

"You're the Angel from back then," she said, subconsciously tracing her scar with her left hand.

His grin grew crooked in the light he emitted.

"Indeed. And here you are, needing saving again. Well let this serve as a warning. This person was about to rape and strangle you to death. If I had been even a minute late, you'd have been dead."

She digested this for a moment.

"How do you know all of that?"

He retorted; "I'm an angel. We're imbued with some basic fourth-dimensional powers, meaning that we can essentially do anything, save changing time or warping all of reality."

She blinked. "Okay. Does this mean that heaven and hell exist?"

Markus answered quickly. "In essence, though we prefer the name Paradise. And anyone Hell is… more like becoming nothing than anything else."

She paused. "Am I a good person?"

Markus smiled. "You're a very virtuous person, yes. Your soul is so clean that you purify other souls with it. That's why everyone around you becomes so much happier. It's the same with your brother, which is why you two love being around each other so much. He grows your happiness, and you intensify his happiness in return."

He flicked his arm noncommittally. The wannabe rapist was bound, and Violet suddenly understood the gravity of the situation that she was in.

She'd almost died. Again.

Eric rounded the corner at half of normal speed.

And then time was released, and Markus was gone.

Eric was frantic, looking at the window and back to the tied up man.

"So I almost just died. And you're not going to believe this."

By the end of her explanation, Eric was both anxious with fear and grateful that she was still alive.

"So you're alright?" Eric's fear was bleeding into his voice.

"Yes. I am. What are we going to do with this guy," she said, pointing at the would-be assailant.

"We call the police."

And within ten minutes the man was out of their house, and the police were asking Violet if she had been assaulted.

"No. He was trying, but I was stronger than him, and threw him against the wall."

Violet's answer was concise and quickly delivered.

The police left twenty minutes later, the report of the attempted assault having been taken.

Apparently, Markus had erased his memories.

Eric had been working on something for Violet. A present. A transcription for the alto saxophone part of 'Missin' You' in the key of C, so she could play it with him.

She'd always wanted to play that song.

And he was going to give her a way to do so. He just hoped she liked it.

The next morning, Violet had just finished her breakfast, and was looking at the profile of one Kousei Arima.

She clicked her mouse.

" **Friend request sent."**

She sighed. Eric stood over her shoulder as she did it, egging her on.

"Took you long enough. Now come on, and let's go play. It's been forever. And I have a surprise for you."

She raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

"What could you possibly have had time to do? We're around each other for the majority of every day."

He hid a smile poorly. "I don't know, but I guess you'll find out."

He lead her down into the basement, where she found a piece of music on her stand, next to their piano grande.

"'Missin' You', for Violin-"

Her eyes widened, as her voice broke.

She quickly became teary-eyed.

Eric was behind her, and finished her statement for her.

"By T-Square, arranged by Eric Davidson."

She hadn't read that part yet.

"You didn't."

He shrugged, as she turned to face him.

"I did."

He was quickly hugged, her arms wrapping around his sides.

"I love you." Violet was being sweet again.

And in an homage to something greater than himself, Eric only had one thing to say.

"I know."

They stayed that way for a moment. It felt like they were twelve again, hugging for the first time.

It felt like the first time every time.

Her hugs were always warm.

Her cuddles were always warm.

But her hands were always cold, so Eric always held them.

Far away, in the land of the rising sun, the sun had started to rise.

Kaori and Kousei laid in bed.

She was the little spoon, as she always was. His arms were wrapped around her waist.

It was little tiny moments like this that made her happy.

It wasn't quite time to be awake yet, and she laid peacefully with her other half, their connection not acting up or otherwise making a peep.

They were at peace.

Their beige sheets were mostly wrapped around the two's legs. They were already warm, so it didn't matter. They weren't the same people that they used to be.

They were a young couple, very much in love.

Yet the level of substance to their relationship had hardly changed.

When someone has always loved you with all of their heart, how do they learn to love you more?

As she pondered this, a detail in the background changes ever so slightly.

Kousei's phone blipped with a request that would change the dynamic of multiple relationships.

"Hey, Kousei Arima! Remember me? Wanna be friends?"

Later, as he read the message, Kousei accepted her friend request.

And so the course of a new adventure was set.

The bow facing into the horizon of a blazing sunrise.

Next time on Scars in the Mirror:

The Invitation

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to the readers in the Netherlands, as they are my largest viewer base! All of you rock!


	16. The Invitation

Chapter 16: The Invitation

" **Your friend request has been accepted."**

Violet let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding in, leaning back into her chair.

Her shirt was pinched at the spot she'd been unconsciously holding it.

Just a plain t-shirt and athletic leggings. Not like she was going anywhere to do anything today. But her little brother had given his daily compliment anyway. It wasn't on her outfit though. It was on her hair, which she had down, but had put some more care into than usual, and it was glossy and dark, for once.

She was a little nervous about trying to talk to Kousei, even after the confidence boost from earlier.

Eric was in his room, playing as he usually did.

Today's practice session was mostly reviewing intervals.

"God I hate these things," he said as he struck a major seventh.

"Ugh. Even worse than a tri-tone."

Eric's clattering around upstairs was a little annoying, as he was playing all sorts of bad-sounding chords and tensions.

"I swear, it's almost like he's doing it to annoy me." Violet was wrong in that he hated it as much as she did.

She focused on her computer screen again.

She had messenger pulled up, and was about to message him.

"What should I say? I know that the weather is pretty bad out there right now, but that's all I've got."

She checked out the weather in Japan, just to be absolutely sure.

Sure enough, this week's forecast was all showers with the exception of one partially cloudy day.

"Well I guess the weather is a solid way to open this conversation."

She typed in; "I see your weather is pretty terrible over there."

She wondered and speculated and monologued to herself over whether or not this was good enough for an opening statement.

She breathed in, and pressed enter.

There were a few tense moments, as the message traveled many miles.

*in Japan*

 ***vvp***

Kousei felt his phone vibrate.

He had just accepted someone's Facebook request.

This was a fairly normal routine, for him.

But he realized that he recognized this girl, as he unlocked his screen.

Violet Davidson. The name was new to him, but her face was definitely not.

She was cute.

He didn't know if Kaori would be okay with him talking to a minor.

Like, at all.

But he figured that since they had already met, that he was probably fine to at least interact with her.

"I see your weather is pretty terrible over there."

Kousei blinked. "I mean, she's not wrong."

And he decided to say just about that: "You're not wrong. So you don't live in Japan?"

She saw his message within a minute, and replied.

"Nope. It says on my profile that I live in Hawaii."

He squinted, and went back to her Facebook page.

' **Lives in Hawaii'**

"Well I guess she's not joking."

He typed; "I totally envy you, Violet. I'm guessing that you remember me, right? I don't need to introduce myself?"

A minute or so later, Violet saw this and was surprised. "I didn't expect him to use my first name immediately."

She typed back pretty quickly, totally amped for this conversation.

She had been waiting for this chance.

"Yes, Kousei. I remember you. You and your fiance were very kind to my brother and I. How could I forget?"

She had to bring up Kaori early in the conversation, otherwise she might not seem familiar enough with him to create prolonged interest.

Kousei was satisfied enough with her answer. She seemed nice, and didn't seem like the normal fan-girl.

He had too many of those already.

The fan club grew with each performance. The only reason they weren't in Denmark when they performed was because they didn't announce anywhere that they were leaving the country.

Normally, when getting on a train to go to a performance that was in a few days, they'd post stuff on their social media.

They hadn't with the Denmark trip.

He was more informal with the next answer.

"You might have forgotten. But apparently not. Your performance was excellent, by the way. We were too busy being concerned to tell you that. But you two worked very well together."

Violet blushed. Such an honest compliment was high praise from him. He and Kaori were amazing musicians.

"I appreciate the compliment. Thanks."

Kousei was joined in the living room by Kaori, who had subconsciously realized that he was having some sort of conversation.

She noticed he was texting.

"Who're you talking to?" She asked, genuinely curious. Kousei didn't tend to talk to text many people.

"Remember the twins that performed in Denmark?"

Kaori nodded her head, wavy hair bouncing with the motion.

He continued; "Well the girl reached out over Facebook, and she seems genuinely nice, and hasn't acted like a fangirl. We've talked about the weather a little, a bit of this and that."

Kaori sat down next to him, and stated her approval.

Seeing her profile picture again, she said; "She's not quite as striking in her photos, in my opinion."

He nodded blankly, typing in his next response.

"I really thought it was great. My partner just called you striking, by the way."

Violet was really surprised when she got that text, before breaking into a small laugh. Kaori wasn't into women, was she?

No, she couldn't be. She was with a man like Kousei. That wouldn't make sense.

"Well tell her I said thank you, and that she made me chuckle."

She waited for him to respond. And he did, saying "She means it. But anyway, awkward introductions aside… what's up with you?"

"I've been thinking about messaging you two for a while and wanted to get to know you better. Maybe even meet in person."

Kaori was amused by this, and replied for Kousei, taking his phone.

"If you wanna fly us out there, we're game for another vacation, even though we just had one. This weather sucks."

Violet's eyes filled with excitement. Her parents had given them trust funds for a reason.

"Are you sure? Because while I'd be glad to pay for your tickets, you might have to find your own lodgings, unless I can convince our parents to let you stay here."

Kaori and Kousei were shocked at the offer.

"She really is generous, with an offer like that," Kaori said, raising a speculative eyebrow at her fiance, before continuing.

"Think she might have a motive in that? Because if so, just remember that you can look, but not touch. She's not even 18, either."

Kousei looked at the rain outside. "Even so, we could afford to get out of Japan for a bit. I say that we talk to her again tomorrow and the day after, and see if she actually follows through."

Kaori agreed. It would be better that way, anyway. It would make sure she was serious, and Kaori felt Kousei's excitement at two separate things that were hard to perceive when put together.

The first was the prospect of a new adventure.

The second? A new friend. Kousei hadn't made any friends in a long time.

Kaori thought it was adorable that he thought that way.

They wrapped up the conversation.

Violet bit her lower lip lightly as she exhaled.

"That was successful, I guess?"

And it had been successful, no matter how she looked at it. But she was nervous and tense and spooked out as Eric entered the room, having gotten tired of the weird tone colors.

"Did you finally message him, then?"

He was amused at her spooked out response. She hadn't heard him enter.

" **Ah!** Oh. It's just you, Eric. You made me jump there."

"And? Did you text him?"

She paused. "Yes."

They looked into each others eyes, dark brown meeting dark brown.

"And how did it go?" Eric asked, inquisitive.

She averted her gaze, but managed to return her eyes sort of directed near his face.

"They… were interesting. Kousei was nice, and Kaori called me "striking.""

Eric snorted, but then agreed.

"Yeah, you're good looking, Violet. She's not wrong."

She did a double-take, and then blushed, her cheeks sizzling.

She opened her mouth... and then closed it without saying anything.

Her eyes were happy.

His eyes were happy.

They said nothing, but they knew that the other was happy.

Kaori and Kousei sat at their kotatsu.

They had tea boiling, and it was 2:00 PM. Normal time for tea when neither was working.

Their bond had been very quiet since they had gotten home. No warnings of disaster, or forced sleeps or movements.

All seemed to be well. But as Kousei looked out the window, it was all storms.

"We might actually take her up on that offer, if the weather continues this way for much longer, Kaori."

The tea kettle whistled in the other room. Kaori got up to make the tea.

She turned to Kousei, eyebrow raised; "Two sugars, right?"

He kept looking out the window, as if lost in thought. He was blocking her out again. "Yeah. Two, please."

He was really thinking hard about the offer.

" _She's a minor. But we've competed against her before, and she's willing to pay for us to come out. It almost seems rude to refuse…"_

When Kaori arrived back with the tea, he was still monologuing to himself, with her entirely blocked out.

Her eyes were piercing as she forced her way through his block, snapping him out of it.

"Hey! Your tea is getting cold, Mr. Pianist. And don't make me do that again, or I will read your mind. Like a book."

She meant it, too.

They had their tea, and drank it, too.

But could they make the right decision and still go to Hawaii?

Neither really knew the answer. But Violet seemed to be genuinely kind and generous. So what even was the right decision?

In Hawaii, it was now 2:00 PM, a few hours after interacting with Kaori and Kousei. Violet was in an amazing mood. She was a little tense, but overall rather content with herself.

She had one of her parent's favorite songs stuck in her head.

An old R&B song that they liked to dance to. _"Oh how love has found its way. Into my heart tonight."_

The lyrics matched how she felt, and she thought to herself: _"It may not be love, but it sure feels nice."_

Her eyes were bright for once in the oblique lighting, and he could see the striations in her irises as he watched her prepare lunch.

She turned to face him, and her eyes were dark again. "Are you going to help today, or just watch me make you lunch?"

He was caught! "Um… I could help if you'd like. What do you need me to do?"

"For one, not stare. But you could help me shell the crabs after they're boiled."

"You expect me not to look at you when we make lunch? Wow. That's a new one."

"You know what I mean. It's the way you stare. We're trying to get you over your physical attraction."

He looked at the ground. "I'm trying, you know. I just can't help it. There's nothing to not like about the way you look. And it's not all physical. You're in my head. And it feels so wrong, but I can't help it."

She saw how messed up he was. He looked distraught, moreso than she'd ever seen him.

" _I don't feel unattracted to you, either, but I can't encourage you."_ She felt like he did.

She was just better at hiding it.

(Puts fainting couch under each of the audience members (What a bombshell to drop, huh))

And she had never even given a hint of this away before.

But as the two of them shelled the crabs and got the meat out for the chowder, she was the one staring.

She had always thought he was cool. Ever since he taught her music theory, played for her on piano when she was bored, and he even let her cuddle with him.

Those sorts of feeling just… matured.

They weren't impure feelings. She just wanted love, and whatever it is that drives the human heart and mind had grown into wanting to be with Eric.

He said it was wrong, and she agreed with him.

She said that she understood where he was coming from.

Because she knew exactly what he meant when he said it felt wrong.

She didn't believe that soulmates existed. It seemed like wishful thinking to her.

She didn't really believe in 'God,' or 'Angels,' but she was slowly being forced to accept the existence of the latter. So if something like an Angel or a God exists, then why not soulmates?

" _That's not to say that I think of him as my soulmate. Everything just feels more right when I'm with him."_

Far away, in a meeting of the Angels and the Origin, He sat on his throne and shook his head.

"What a grievous mistake we've made for two of our own. They feel better around each other because they are connected by fate. The destiny of their souls was always intertwined. How could soulmates be born as twins?"

Markus sighed from the opposite side of the table. "What a cruel fate. Fated to have a connection but damned to never have children that are normal."

The Origin's aura lit up the whole room, then. "I could always intervene and make the children normal. But I'd need a conduit for my powers. And there's never been a human born with a strong enough soul to take that sort of spiritual beating. It would be like trying to force a bowling ball through a dime-sized hole. You'd eventually get it through, but only after ripping the paper in half."

All of the other Angels were silent, as Markus was always allowed the chance to speak first, as the Archangel was always allotted.

"You could use me, couldn't you?"

The voice from the corner startled everyone.

He hadn't spoken in a long time.

Another Angel. His name was also Markus. He was just from a different time. He'd been sent back a long time ago, with the goal of saving two future angels from extreme anguish.

His Origin had seen it prudent to warn them that it wouldn't be wise to create between the two of them.

So he sent Markus to change at least one timeline for the better. Markus would be allowed to return to his timeline after his task was complete.

His task was almost upon him, as their romance was nearing its peak.

It was almost time. He could wait another month.

Their lunch had been transported successfully to the back patio, and Violet and Eric had sighed after they sat the vat down.

"We made way too much. We don't need to make lunch for a while, now." Violet was sort of amused, looking at her brother squirm as she stretched herself out.

She didn't tease him often, but when she did, she was ruthless about it.

She preferred to be sweet, anyway. Teasing wasn't really her style.

So she changed up her tactics.

"Thanks for helping, by the way. I appreciate you." Her smile was radiant.

He blushed vividly.


	17. A Love's Start

Chapter 17: A Love's Start

"Hello, child."

It was an odd sort of awe that Violet felt, in that moment.

The world around her was still, if a little grey. Her brother's face was frozen in a wide grin.

Violet was just looking around, and the Origin was amused.

"Stunned silent? That's understandable. I don't make appearances often."

The man, if she could call him that, chuckled at her disbelief when he spoke in a voice with two tones.

"That's what you focus on? The fact that I speak in an interval is the most interesting part of me? Come now. I'm what you'd consider to be God."

She was unable to speak, feeling as though there was weight being added to her shoulders every time she breathed in. Whatever he was, the light around him was forcing her further and further towards the ground.

She opened her mouth, gasping for air before saying ; "Hey, can you lighten up on the pressure? It's… getting harder to breathe."

The pressure ceased immediately.

She collapsed to her knees, her body having been worn-out by the pressure off-putted. "I mean what else would I have expected from…. God….."

Her eyes widened, and she started to freak out.

He gestured with his hand, and her heart stopped racing, and she calmed down.

"You're fine. I understand that I'm a hard thing to wrap your head around."

His voice was comforting, like Eric holding her.

She sighed with relief. "Well that's good. I didn't really know how to react."

"That is also understandable. But I need to warn you. You need to be careful about how you go about being 'with' your brother. I can tell you one thing. You were meant to be together. Your fate wasn't to be twins."

She buckled, and her insides crawled at that statement, as her psyche roared in joy, but despaired over her luck at the same time.

"Even I couldn't save you if you died giving birth."

And with that, Violet's subconscious wailed.

And the Origin disappeared.

Time started to flow forward.

Suddenly, Eric noticed Violet was on the ground. Her expression was full of shock. He scrambled around the table to help her up. She grabbed his arm, and he pulled her upright, where she promptly decided that leaning on him would be the safest option.

"Are you alright? I didn't see you fall." Eric was obviously concerned for his favorite person.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you. I'm just a little shocked, is all. I'll explain later." Violet was holding on to him with everything she had left. He led her to her chair, and sat her down. He heard part of her neck crack painfully as she sat down.

She winced, and gasped out in pain; _"Ah!"_

"Do you want me to help you with that? That sounds painful."

Her eyes were pleading and pained.

"Yes, please."

That was all he needed to hear, moving behind her.

"I'm gonna massage your neck and shoulders, alright? Tell me if anything hurts too much."

He sank his hands into her shoulders, kneading her muscles in his hands lightly.

He felt everything settle in under his fingers, even if it was settling slowly.

She sighed as he massaged her neck, several pops of tendons righting themselves being audible briefly.

She turned her head to the left, letting him get at a particularly painful kink in her neck.

He was diligent, and as her neck cracked, she felt pleasure instead of the pain she'd been expecting. He was good with his hands, she supposed.

She was like putty in his hands.

She felt content, and spoke without thinking.

"Wow I love you," she said, turning her face towards him.

She realized what she'd said almost right after she said it, but the real indicator that something was up was when he blushed.

Eric didn't blush easily. It was only when she accentuated her femininity or sweetness that he got flustered, usually.

He saw her face was content and happy and loved. He could tell that's how she felt.

And then she realized; _"I said I love you. Crap!"_

Her face was completely red.

He let go of her shoulders and backed over to grab the vat, and went back inside, speechless.

Violet's thoughts were filled with what He had said.

He had seemed so otherworldly, as if something about him escaped her understanding.

And then something that Angel had said occurred to her.

"We're granted basic fourth-dimensional powers…."

She said this aloud. You could see the light-bulb over her head, almost. "That means that God is fourth-dimensional! That's why I couldn't comprehend him, or be around him for long."

Violet might not have had a genius level IQ. But her and her twin were pretty up there when it came to smarts. While they were both mainly artistically minded, their determination and eidetic memories made it easier on them in logic based courses.

And thinking logically, if God could give the angels fourth-dimensional powers, then he would need to at least be fourth dimensional.

Everything was starting to make sense, for Violet.

For Eric, he'd never felt more confused and teased. She'd said it like she meant it. But in what way, was the question.

Sitting inside after cleaning up, his thoughts were mostly just anxious clutter. But amid it all was one barren, simple thought.

" _I love you too."_

They had just finished dinner, once again without their parents. It had been a quiet affair, with it just being a frozen pizza, eaten in separate rooms.

Pretty close to immediately after she was done eating, Violet decided she needed a swim to go calm herself.

She climbed the stairs as her brother laid out on the couch.

He took notice when he heard a door close upstairs.

He wondered what she was up to. He had no clue about what to say about the whole situation.

He could make a joke about it, but what if she was serious and he hurt her feelings?

She dressed in her swimsuit after stripping everything off. She was ready for the water by the time she headed down the stairs.

It was just a coincidence that she was wearing the swimsuit her brother liked best on her. It was also a coincidence that she happened to pass him on the way out.

If she had seen his blush, she probably would have smacked him.

She felt some odd feeling come over her.

It was like she could feel him there, as she walked out of the room.

This particular suit was more skimpy than the rest. And Eric stared, too.

He couldn't help that fact that he glanced at her, but then he didn't turn away.

He felt guilty, but was too enthralled to care.

He felt alive. Energetic. Happy. He felt right.

And then she was out of the room, and then out the back door.

He snapped out of his trance-like state. His intense state of happiness was gone, replaced with …. longing?

And so he waited, for a few minutes. The feeling was still there. That desire still present in his mind, to be with her. It was a pulling motion from inside his chest, somewhere.

That was different. He usually didn't want for anything at all. But in the moment, he wanted her, and her company.

He had made up his mind. He too, went upstairs and stripped down, and proceeded to change into his swim shorts.

He looked out his window, trunks halfway on.

The sun was already setting. She was silhouetted against the beautiful hues of the dimming light. Her back was to him.

He finished putting on his trunks and rushed outside, after running down the stairs.

She was now sitting down, right at the edge of the waterline, as if waiting for the water to take her away.

She looked serene, but when he got closer to her, he saw her scar, illuminated by the dimming light.

She was perfection, even with that scar.

Something clicked into place in Eric's mind, and he remembered something he'd been striving to forget for a long time.

He was in the ambulance, as he remembered holding a hand over her wound.

He was sweaty, his shorts and lower shirt soaked with water and blood.

He was desperate, his eyes frantic as they established an ETA for the hospital staff.

But she was bleeding out too fast, and even though the bleeding had slowed for some reason, it wasn't enough.

The paramedics all looked grim.

" _She isn't gonna die… is she?"_

He felt her heartbeat under his hand, as her carotid artery continued to push blood outside of her body.

" _She couldn't die."_

The pool of blood on the ambulance floor was growing. Nothing was working to staunch it.

" _She wouldn't."_

Her eyes were starting to dim. If that wound didn't close soon, she was going to die.

He flashed back to every single time she had ever made him feel happy and complete.

" _I can't let her die."_

His eyes flashed as time stopped.

As the environment around him stood still, a light filled his hand. Her wound closed up.

He was back in the present now.

She was still sitting at the waterline, and now more than ever, he felt so grateful. Now, she was his everything.

And he sat down next to his everything.

And for the first time felt a heartbeat other than his own. But it was fleeting, and quickly gone.

She turned to face him. "Hey Eric." She was in a good mood, now. But she seemed somber, before.

Just what had changed her mood so quickly?

He appeared next to her after she heard the patio door open.

He stood there for a minute, as if thinking of something to say.

But he said nothing, and sat down.

She was happy he was there. It had taken him long enough.

She faced him.

"Hey Eric." Violet made sure her smile was genuine.

She looked so happy. He was just so grateful that he had someone like her to appreciate. People like her were once in a lifetime sort of people, to be certain.

He moved in close. Their foreheads touched as they just held each other, silhouetted by the sunset.

The moment was so precious that Violet didn't even question it when their lips touched.

Author's Note: Please don't crucify me. I know this was short but I only get so many days in the week.

I hope you enjoyed.

Please review if you did.


	18. The Connection (pt 2)

Chapter 18: The Connection (pt. 2)

Their lips had met.

Their heartbeats began to sync.

Their souls began the process of reaching out.

But they pulled apart.

They were both red-faced.

"I… have to go." Eric's eyes were filled with guilt. She was so beautiful, and everything had felt so right, just for a moment.

"If you're going somewhere right now, I'm coming with you. We have some talking to do." Violet's eyes were sharper than he had expected them to be. She was desperate to say something.

They each stood from where they had been sitting.

The sun had finally set, and as Eric strode toward the house, he looked back. She was framed by moonlight. It was a hauntingly beautiful sight.

He stood on the edge of the patio, and looked at his everything.

He etched this moment into his mind.

The smell of the sea, the way her hair was being swept around by the breeze.

The way the shadows on her collarbone were contrasted against the lighter tones of her upper breasts.

Her eyes burned with passions not yet lived out and with love not yet expressed.

She opened her mouth to speak, and so began the most far-fetched explanation of her whole life thus far.

By the end of it, Eric was nearing a mental breakdown. He was experiencing a mental split. Half of him wanted her so badly, while the other half was all of the life experiences he'd had so far.

The tears had long since passed, and Eric was slumped in a patio chair.

His expression was blank.

Violet sat across from him, obviously concerned. She had cried, too.

She didn't like seeing him like this.

Eric looked broken.

On the inside, Eric's two halves were fighting for control.

A mental war. Soulmates versus siblings.

But as his eyes became less dazed, and he sat up, love had already won.

They moved to go inside at the same time. He held the door, and she went in first.

She beckoned him into the living room. "Come on. I think I know something that might help you right now. Sit on the love seat, and I'll be right back. I have to go change."

With that, she left the room, the birch-wood flooring silent under her feet.

As she went upstairs, she already knew what she was going to dress in.

She had one piece of clothing that she knew he loved. Her only really comfortable nightgown, which was royal blue and super soft.

He said that it made her hugs somehow even better. She had been so happy that he liked something she enjoyed wearing.

That's why she had saved it for special occasions, where she felt he needed to feel better.

She pulled off her swimsuit, chucking it across the room and into her hamper.

She quickly dressed in her favorite set of underwear, and slid her nightgown down over her head. She brushed her hair quickly.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smirked to herself. He had massaged her so well earlier that the tension had just melted away. She was gonna do her best to alleviate some of his tension, now.

She came down the stairs, lightly as usual. Eric's eyes were drawn to her immediately from the spot on the loveseat that he was sprawled out on.

Her eyes softened at the look on his face.

He was grateful, and he didn't try to hide it.

She walked across the room, and laid down next to him, almost on the edge of the couch. He started to sit up. She pushed him back down.

"You're staying right here." He gazed into her eyes, entranced.

There was a tinge of grey there, as the lighter color danced around the rims of her irises.

He looked down at his hands. She nodded, and he made the first move.

He wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

They were face to face, and she nuzzled into the crook of his neck as they embraced.

He took off his shirt with his free hand, and it brushed across her face as he pulled it off. He threw it to the side.

She placed a hand on his chest.

He leaned forward.

She leaned forward.

"Kiss me," she murmured. She closed her eyes.

Their lips met again.

They made out, with a fiery passion.

They stopped it from escalating any further, as they both pulled back, breathing heavily.

Their arms were wrapped around each other in a soft embrace.

And they stayed that way for ten minutes, relishing in the feeling of their bodies so close.

Eric whispered into the four inch gap between his mouth and her ear.

"I could stay here forever. You and your hugs should be illegal, because they're addictive as heck." Eric was sincere and content.

Violet was warm and happy and loving.

They were both happy, in that moment.

They didn't know it yet, but love was truly in the air.

And their souls rejoiced, as they had finally been freed to fall in love.

*Fourteen hours later*

It was all gloom and doom in Japan.

The morning sky was overcast like no-ones business. Kousei sighed to himself.

They both were sitting at their piano, and as Kaori drank her morning tea, silent, Kousei started to play.

Brahms.

It was soft, the steady rhythms filling the room.

An illusion was forming, and Kousei let it flow out from his soul.

A meadow at dusk. You could hear the nocturnal animals starting to roam inside the melody.

The focus shifted around from one animal to the next, before settling on one solitary bat.

Every hair on its body was made visible to Kaori, its every movement captured in the steady rhythms that flowed through the night.

A soft glissando showed it gliding through the air.

Its leathery wing membranes spread wide, it just flapped along.

Thunder.

The illusion stopped.

It was starting to storm, and Kousei stopped playing.

They both scowled.

"I thought we were over this weather. I'm so sick of it. Do you think we should actually take Violet up on her offer?" Kousei speculated.

Lightning struck their lightningrod.

Their expressions grew annoyed as their power jolted off and on several times.

Now in the dark, they both spoke through their bond at the same time.

" _Fuck this weather."_

It was late morning in Hawaii, and the weather outside was impeccable.

The two had fallen asleep on the couch, and were just now starting to wake up.

Eric was groggy and unresponsive as Violet unwrapped his arms from around her waist.

"Come on. Get up," she said, shaking his chest, which was still bare.

He cracked one eyeball.

The eye it revealed was not well rested, but rather bloodshot, and exhausted.

He was paler than usual, as well. Her instincts kicked in as she felt his forehead.

Blazing. On fire. Not normal for him. His immune system was normally pretty robust.

He shifted, trying to get up.

"Hey. You're sick, and not moving from this spot until you get fluids in you."

"But _Violet…_ "

"No buts. Don't make me force feed you, either. I may be nice, but if you can't use your common sense enough to know that you need food and drink, then you're not my amazing brother. And I'm not going to coddle anyone other than Eric Ronald Davidson."

She was being firm, for once.

He sighed. "...fine. Coddle me, then."

She smirked. "I'm only taking care of you after you eat and drink something, Eric."

With that, she left the room, to go make breakfast.

Eric was increasingly grateful for her.

It was only fitting when he opened his phone to find a cover of T-Square's single, _'It's Magic.'_

" _She certainly holds a power over me."_ He knew, at least, that his thoughts were his own.

For now.

Kousei was exhausted, having to deal with a set of wet clothes and a set of stormy emotions. His shift had just ended, and it was just starting to be evening.. It was still storming.

He was officially done, and he let his spouse-to-be know before he even got inside.

The bond essentially sent a wave of irritation in her direction.

"Oh that isn't good." Kaori was a little spooked as he opened the door, revealing himself to be utterly soaked.

"Hon. Can you go get me some dry clothes?" His expression was strained. He was not happy.

She nodded her head yes, and quickly left for their bedroom.

Kousei sighed. It had been a long day.

He was so done with Japan's weather. It was time to call Violet Davidson.

Two minutes later, he had changed into some nice warm pajamas, and Kaori was preparing him some tea.

If he would just wait for her to get back, it would be ready in just minutes.

" _Don't….fall… asleep."_

Eric was still on the couch. He was exhausted, but his everything was nearby, so he was managing just fine.

She was sitting with his legs on her lap.

The tea and soup she had quickly made him had been consumed a while ago, and they had settled in for a slow day.

Eric's condition was worsening, unknown to both him and his sister.

Violet's phone started to ring.

The caller was unknown, so she didn't answer immediately, but realized that the caller ID said it was from Japan.

She stretched from her comfy position and got her phone from where it sat five feet away.

"Hello." Her voice was kept normal.

"This is Kousei. Is your offer still on the table? Because the weather is getting worse, and we're expecting another typhoon soon. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Her eyes widened. She had gotten her father's approval, and she said so.

"Yes. My dad said that it would be okay, so long as I paid for everything myself."

"When can we get everything scheduled for?" Kousei's voice filled with barely-contained excitement.

"In about a month should be okay. You'll be staying for a week, since that's the range the discount tickets are available for."

Their voices fade out as Eric falls asleep.

He'd fallen into the space in between life and death.

The world of sky surrounded him for the first time.

The grey outline of a man stood there.

"It's not your time yet, Eric. I need you to wake up. Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up."

Violet had dropped her phone, when she had noticed her brother had gone even paler.

She felt his forehead. Cold.

She was starting to panic. He couldn't be dead! She loved him, damn it! She felt for a pulse.

There was none.

"He's… dead?"

Her panic was overwhelming the rest of her personality. Her worry for him was all-consuming.

And as her mind erupted into chaos, the world stopped moving around her.

"WAKE UP!" She shook his cooling body in a broken-hearted fury.

There was a chuckle from behind her.

"You don't need to be quite so loud, Violet. He's not going to die. You will need to get him to a hospital so they can perform the proper surgery. He's suffering from a heart attack. I should be able to lessen its effects somewhat, but not completely cancel them out."

The Origin gestured with his hand. His heart started, and healed just the slightest bit.

Color returned to his face, and as time started again, he opened his eyes.

Violet didn't even have time to register what had happened by the time time started again.

Violet was standing over him.

"Vi?" His voice was weak.

A jolt of pain shook his body.

" **Ah!** "

"Don't speak. I'm gonna get you to the hospital."

She grabbed her phone, cut Kousei off, and dialed 911.

"911. What is your emergency?"

"My brother is having a heart attack!"

"...I'm gonna get you to the hospital-"

The phone call cut off.

Kaori brought his tea in.

He turned to her.

"Apparently Eric is being taken to a hospital. I don't know why, though."

Her eyes widened. "Oh that's just dreadful; I wonder if he'll be alright. I hope he is."

He nodded his head in the affirmative. "I hope he's okay too. Imagine what Violet is going through right now."

Kaori winced at that thought. They tried to return to what they were doing, but they were both secretly worrying for the two amazing people that were 3700 miles away.

The two amazing people were each dealing with pain.

Violet rode in the ambulance with him, emotions everywhere. She wouldn't let any of the EMT's touch him unless they needed to.

With the amount that the Origin had healed him, the heart attack had stopped. And by the time they arrived at the hospital, the tremors of pain had stopped shaking his body.

She wondered what would have happened had He not intervened. It already was having such an after-effect _with_ His help.

Sitting on his gilded throne and reading her thoughts while presiding over approximately twenty billion other things at once, the Origin knew exactly what would have happened had he not intervened.

Eric would have died.

End of story. And then Violet would have spiraled into a depression that would have led her to drown herself in the ocean.

Their parents would have found her, broken and waterlogged at two in the morning after a vigorous night search.

It would have taken a diving squad to confirm her death. And then a professional would have had to have been sent down to retrieve her already-decomposing body.

He didn't experience nausea like his creations did, but he felt sick at the idea of someone so pure being pushed that far as to commit such a heinous act against herself.

It was a burden, knowing all that could be and all that would be.

Some futures were unacceptable in his eyes.

Her parents would have gotten a divorce and never spoken again. All that they had were Violet and Eric; in that future, their lives became empty and listless. Unimportant.

The difference was that he could change what was undesirable, in his eyes.

That future was definitely undesirable.

They would have to live. If he had to reverse time to save them, he would.

He had already done it for two others. There was no difference here.

The Origin's thoughts turned to other matters, and Violet is brought back into focus, sitting in a room next to Eric.

We see a doctor's mouth move, but no sound comes out.

Violet looks disappointed and sighs, and Eric looks accepting.

The hospital was making Eric stay overnight, to get a proper diagnosis.

His condition was unknown at the moment. One of his symptoms was a slight heart murmur, which doctors thought could mean something worse, leading to his overnight stay.

He had been annoyed at that. He hated hospitals, because of the memories they brought up.

He hated remembering her laying there, nearly eviscerated.

As Violet sat next to her brother's hospital bed, far past visiting hours, she looked at him. He was sleeping at the moment. He looked so peaceful. At ease.

She herself was reading a novel, finally feeling relaxed because of his presence, even if it was when he was sleeping.

Her outfit was simple, a light dress, comfortable enough to sleep in, as she was now finding.

It was soft and accented her curves. She really loved it.

It was one of Eric's favorites to look at, even though everything basically looked the same on her.

She was just a shape that wasn't conducive to a lot of outfits, which was annoying.

Her 6'2 frame made it hard to wear skirts, and anything low-cut was out of the question entirely. There was nothing to accent there.

He snored lightly.

She chuckled a little to herself. _"He even snores in a cute way."_

It felt right, sitting by his side. She continued on reading for several minutes.

A nurse ducked in for a second.

"Honey, if you want to stay the night with him, we're going to need to verify who you are."

Violet produced her driver's license.

The nurse took it, and went to a computer on the desk outside of Eric's room.

She signed Violet in, and then returned with her license.

"Okay. Tell me when you want to turn in for the night. I'll bring you a blanket and pillow."

Violet paused in her reading. "Now would be nice, actually."

By this point, Eric had woken up.

His twin, no, his everything was right there, loyally beside him.

He felt so loved.

So when the nurse returned with the blanket and pillow, he dared to do something absolutely risky.

The light went out.

He cracked an eye open, and saw her in the dark, trying to settle in.

"Hey," he whispered, "Come sleep over here. I'll move over."

If he had been able to see her face, he would have seen the widest, cutest grin ever.

He was promptly joined by the amazingness that was Violet Davidson.

"Hi there. Guess who?" Her voice was playful.

A pause in the dark night followed, but was then broken by Eric.

"My favorite person?" His voice was slightly hesitant, but proud to say that phrase.

He felt her lips slide up against his as she said; "Correct answer."

For the first time, their tongues wrestled with each other, before they broke away.

Eric's heart rate had already started to go up. Violet had been monitoring it herself.

If it went too high, they'd be caught in the same bed by the nurse sitting right outside the room.

So they stopped.

"That's enough for you, I think." Violet was still being playful.

Eric groaned, but dealt with it.

He was happy enough to have her body against his again.

They cuddled.

They embraced.

They slowly fell asleep.

Violet was the first to fall asleep, and Eric followed shortly afterward, her long hair across his chest and her head on his stomach.

They were both content.

Eric's dream consisted of falling through the air. He didn't know why he was falling, but as he put his hand to his chest and looked at it, there was blood.

A man appeared at the very corner of his vision.

He put out his palm. He spoke in a double voice, and had wings.

Why did he have wings for?

" **Evil, I cast ye out! Leave this boy!"**

Everything went white, and then Eric woke up.

He woke up to a nice feeling.

He was so warm, and he knew that she was there, cuddled up against him.

She woke at the same time he did.

"Hey there. How are you feeling?" She muttered sleepily.

"Pretty great, since the worlds best cuddler is pressed up against me."

She made a face in the light of the rising sun.

"I meant how is your heart, but that answer was somehow even more correct. Good job, you just earned yourself something special when we get out of this place."

If she could have seen it, his face had heated up, his cheeks sizzling in a blush.

"What does that mean?" He asked this tentatively.

She whispered into his ear. She spoke, and whatever it was she said did the trick.

His blush somehow got more intense. He spoke;

"Don't be giving me a heart attack now. It would look suspicious if they found you in bed with my dead body."

There was a brief pause in their conversation.

She rested her head on his chest, and just listened to his ragged heartbeat.

She was almost asleep as he said; "I think it would also be suspicious if they found my sister in bed with me at all."

She muttered back immediately.

"Yeah. They'd be suspicious of how you got a girl like me in bed with you. Now go back to sleep, lover boy. You still have an hour yet."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and finally relaxed enough to fall asleep.

He wrapped one of his arms around the small of her back.

The other went on the back of her upper thigh.

He was in Paradise, surely. Nothing could top this moment.

And as suddenly as the moment started, that hour was up, and there was a nurse in their room to wake them up. She flicked on the lights.

She took one look at them, intertwined and knowing that they were siblings, and promptly walked out, feeling very awkward.

Violet was screaming on the inside as she waited two hours later for his discharge.

The doctor had promised to let them go first thing in the morning, but apparently that had been a lie.

Apparently the news had spread that they had been found in bed together, as all of the staff that hadn't clocked out from the third shift yet were giving them very odd looks.

She was in the lobby, listening to the alternative music they had playing.

He was still stuck upstairs, getting checked out one last time. She was annoyed at how far away he was, but she reminded herself that he was just an elevator ride away.

She had never liked parting from him, even as a younger teenager.

It didn't feel right unless he was there. She supposed; "I guess that makes more sense now."

This was said to herself, but Eric's voice from behind the couch she was sitting on spooked her.

"What does?"

She flinched in surprise, before half-glaring at him.

"You spooked me."

He made an unapologetic face.

"I know. Bet you still love me anyway."

She blushed, and then stammered out a "Y-you're not wrong," before her face went back to normal and she asked; "does this mean you're good to go?"

He smiled, and held out a pill bottle. "Sure does."

They departed swiftly, hand-in-hand.

Violet opted to drive home, as she was the all-around better driver out of the two.

The highway was lit with the morning sun, and they soon reached their development on the south side of Honolulu.

When the two of them arrived home, they found a very distraught Meredith Davidson waiting for them.

She tackled her son.

"Are you alright?!"

Violet smiled as she opened the door to the house, and looked back on the scene behind her. Her mother was crying. She didn't cry often.

Violet was crying too.

For the same reason. Love.

She felt his heartbeat as she crossed through the doorway.

She stopped moving and looked back at him.

Their eyes met.

He felt her heart, too.

But it was fleeting, and Violet supposed that she was just imagining things.

She turned back to the doorway, and walked through, leaving him at the mercy of their mother.

She went searching the beach for him later, and found him exactly where she thought she would.

At the shoreline.

He was sunbathing, and hadn't forgotten sunscreen, for once.

She took off the towel she had wrapped around herself, and approached, her footsteps audible on the sand.

He heard her coming to him.

He smiled, and she knew he was awake and aware of her.

"Hey. I can see you're feeling better. You take your first round of meds yet?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling much better."

He paused.

"Now that you're here, anyway."

He looked up at her, and she was beautiful as always.

"Be careful, or you might give me another heart attack, Ms. Gorgeous."

She blushed as she laid down next him.

"Oh hush. I get it, I'm hot. But right now is not the time for conversation. Relax yourself."

"Yes, mom."

She whacked him, and he squawked indignantly.

They were filled with a quiet gratefulness as the sun beat down on them.

They were together, and they were happy.

What else could they ask for?

They went inside a short time later after their mother called them in.

When they reached the patio, their mother was in the doorway. She was dressed in her scrubs.

"I have to go back in to work. I love you two. Behave yourselves."

She winked, all-knowing.

They didn't really know how to respond to that, other than saying at the same time;

"Love you too."

But by that point their mother was out of earshot.

They just awkwardly looked at each other, and went into the living room.

They were both pretty drowsy from laying in the sun for so long. Without even a thought for the furniture, they laid down together on the love-seat.

They kissed briefly, more chastely than the last time, and both laid back and fell asleep.

It was nearly 4 PM when they awoke.

Well, Eric was the one that woke up to the sun glaring in his face through the blinds.

"Wow that's bright."

Violet was roused almost as quickly when he shifted suddenly.

He caught her arm as she fell off his chest.

She almost hit the floor, but didn't, her face dangling inches away from it.

He pulled her up.

"Okay. I'm awake." She blinked a few times. "What time is it," she said, wrinkling her nose up into a yawn.

He yawned with her before getting out his phone.

"Four o' clock."

Her stomach rumbled. "We just slept for five hours."

He nodded. "Yep, and I feel great."

She rolled her eyes as she got up off of him.

"That's just because until a second ago, you were in full contact with me. And nothing seems to get you more excited than that."

She stretched as she walked toward her room.

He called out to her.

"What are you doing?" His eyebrow was raised.

She looked back at him with her radiant smile.

"Just getting dressed before I make us dinner. Have to look good for you."

His heart just melted as he was reminded just how lucky he was to have a girl like Violet.

"God, I love you."

She paused as she ascended the stairs. She had a small smile on her face, her eyes softened.

"I love you more."

He couldn't really contest that. He wanted to. But Eric knew that if he did, they'd never get dinner. They would just spend the evening making out.

When he heard her door close up above him, he figured that he should probably get the table out from the basement.

They were going to eat out on the beach.

By candlelight and fireside,

Their loving hearts would be satisfied.

Violet's closet was a bit of a mess.

Her clothes were rather unorganized, which made it a pain when she wanted to find the pretty aquamarine-colored dress she wanted to wear for him. He loved it on her,

and since she'd already found the matching necklace, she'd figured _"Why not?"_

The necklace itself was sea-glass arranged in the shape of the sun, held together by bronze wire.

He'd bought it for her after her stay in the hospital two years ago, as a 'welcome home' gift.

Underneath a black nightgown, she finally found the dress.

She smiled. _"If he doesn't love this, I don't know what he will."_

Eric had been lugging the table outside, and he found the perfect spot, right at the base of a dune twenty or so feet from their property line.

He figured their neighbors wouldn't mind, so long as they weren't too loud.

He sank the legs into the right spot, and headed back towards their house. It was his turn to get dressed for her.

He knew just the thing.

She was in the kitchen when he came down in his own dress clothes. A red button-up and light khakis made him look sharp.

Violet certainly thought so. He'd even combed his hair, which was a nice touch, if not a necessary one.

He spoke first, after they each got a good look at each other.

"You never cease to amaze me with how beautiful you are."

Her smile grew even more luminous, somehow.

She paused in her trimming of the pork to say;

"Thank you. You look handsome yourself. Get over here and kiss me, dunderhead."

He did as he was told.

They kissed for a moment, open-mouthed, before breaking away.

They still couldn't stop themselves from blushing.

Eric broke the tension.

"I'm gonna go set up our dinner table out on the beach."

Her eyes were skeptical. "For me?"

His eyes were devoted; "Of course. For you, anything is made an easy task."

She blushed even more vibrantly, before smirking.

"Keep on sweet-talking. I'm going to rock your everything later if you aren't careful."

His eyes glazed over slightly as he imagined it.

His face turned almost comically red, before he finally left the room, taking the utensils with him.

Time passed, and before she knew it, Violet was putting the final sear on the pork. Her forehead was slightly sweaty and her right hand ached from holding up the heavy pan for so long.

But she was reminded of who she was cooking for, and she grew happy once more.

" _It's okay to have a servant's heart when doing something for someone you love. It doesn't even matter what it is."_

Her mother's voice echoed through her mind.

Violet had never understood those words until now.

But she did understand. She was making this dinner so he could relax and let her do something special for him. She didn't even need a reason to do it. Her love for him was so satisfying.

And as she put the finishing touches on a meal she knew he would love, Violet Davidson felt truly wanted.

She was so happy to be his.

He helped her carry out the plates, when the time came.

He got situated across from her and lit the two candles.

He wasn't normally this much of a romantic, but looking into her eyes, it was all worth it just to see the raw, unfiltered love held within.

He shivered, and sat down.

She raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

He smiled in a small way.

"You're an intense woman. Sometimes it's a little scary how devoted you are."

They both started to eat.

The wine they had taken from the cellar was a nice blush, nothing too expensive. Their parents were pretty chill with their consumption of alcohol, so long as they didn't take anything that would seriously be missed.

No hard liquor, no expensive/dry reds.

Those were the basic guidelines, aside from the obvious "don't die of liver poisoning."

Violet thought that the blush fit wonderfully to cleanse the palate between bites.

Eric wasn't so particular about his alcohol. He just enjoyed watching Violet react to different combinations of flavors.

She got shivers from food in the same way they both got shivers from music.

It was cute.

They were mostly quiet, appreciating the meal and each other's company.

As she cut into the pork, she looked at him off-handedly.

" _Gosh, he's handsome."_

He took a sip of his wine, and leaned back in his chair. He was totally at ease, feeling calm since he was so close to her.

He spoke up after noticing her looking at him with that intensely devoted look again.

"You know, your cooking is pretty amazing, Violet."

She smiled brightly. "Only for you. Only you get this much effort put in."

He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of hers.

His eyes matched hers.

"And you know what? That's just one of the things I love about you. There's so many reasons."

She spoke, with genuine enthusiasm; "I love so many things about you. So many. I couldn't hardly count them all in a day, Eric. I'm so happy to be your _Angel_."

There was a brief lull in their conversation as they looked into each other's eyes.

She was mesmerized until he spoke.

"Violet, if I couldn't go to bed tonight and expect to have you beside me when I wake in the morning, I wouldn't feel at ease. My love, I love you so much that I would _die_ for you."

She looked about ready to cry from joy.

"And I would die for you, Eric. A thousand times."

A moment of true understanding.

They were in the same frame of mind, thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same emotions.

The world froze around them, and their souls touched.

Like two rivers flowing into one, they were forever connected.

A thread no thicker than a strand of spiders' silk stretched between them.

 _They finally knew what true love was_

 _Their souls never to separate because_

 _A bond stronger than death stretched between them._

 _Nothing they would find would be greater than they would expect_

 _For the soulmates born twins_

 _Were truly Angels in disguise_

 _And they would conquer Death._


	19. The Covenant

Chapter 19: The Covenant

The Origin gazed upon them with awe.

A halo of purity surrounded them.

The thread connecting them with ever-brilliant. They would find out.

They were not ready to be that connected.

Their souls were not yet mature enough to withstand the emotional weight of another person.

He stood, and stepped forward into the space between them, gesturing with his hand for time to stop.

It did, and he saw the seafoam green connection between them.

He waved his hand once more, and it was hidden from them.

He stepped backwards, and he was once again in his throne room.

The strain on his powers was released as he let time flow forward.

He looked back at them to see if the illusion had stuck, and it had.

The Origin was satisfied enough with that, for now.

He had other things to attend to.

They had finished their dinner in only about ten more minutes, and were well on their way to finishing their bottle of blush.

And both of them were definitely blush-ing.

Violet's normal chasteness had started to fade out, leaving a normal girl with normal needs behind.

Her inhibitions in that moment were surprisingly low.

Eric's alcohol tolerance was much higher than his sister's. Much, much higher. He was only relatively buzzed, and she was getting sloppy with her etiquette.

That wasn't Violet at all, so he poured himself the last glass.

When she frowned, he spoke just the tiniest bit of his mind.

"You've had quite a bit already, Vi."

She eyed him saucily.

"I haven't had you yet though."

" _Okay, definitely drunk."_

It was time to clean up, so he walked her back to the house, arm in arm, and got her cozy on the couch once they got into the living room.

He cleaned up himself, first bringing in the dishes and the utensils.

For the second trip, he brought the chairs back to the patio.

The third trip was used up grabbing the empty wine bottles and the candles.

And he finally went back to grab the table.

By the time he was done with taking the table downstairs and started heading back up, he felt a tug from inside him.

It heated him up, in a way that he felt was connected to Violet.

The way it felt just had her all over it.

The undertones of sexuality and femininity overpowered by her overwhelming love.

It was all there.

As he cleared the doorway, he saw her on the couch, hugging a pillow, clearly warm and fuzzy.

"Eric…" She whispered, hugging the pillow close.

He thought that was adorable, and laid down next to her, not giving a damn about everything else.

He roused her from her light slumber.

"Care to have the real thing?" He asked.

Her face was all flushed and content.

"Yes, please. Get over here and _fucking kiss me."_

And Eric did as he was told. He put his arms up underneath hers and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her into his kiss.

She responded in kind, if less coherently.

A fiery heat spread throughout the room. It radiated from them. Their halo of purity was gone, replaced by an aura of passion.

Their foreheads were pressed together, their lips and tongues trapped in a fight.

He thought _"God I love this woman."_

When they finally broke apart, she replied.

"I know you love me. Now get back here."

Their hands were roaming now. The room was physically warmer, as their hands went to more sensitive places.

Just as Eric reached around to grab her butt, her phone rang.

He got up and picked it up for her.

"Hello?"

"It's Kousei. Your sister sort of cut out on us yesterday. Are you alright?"

"Oh. Yeah. I'm doing much better. Sorry for not calling back last night or today, they had me stay overnight to get a proper diagnosis."

"Oh no. It's fine. We were both just wondering about the tickets. The flights will be booked soon right?"

Eric looked at Violet, and since the phone was on speaker she was able to nod her head in the affirmative.

"Yes. They'll be booked soon. And could you maybe call back another time? Not to be rude, obviously. Violet and I were just practicing something important. We sort of need to get back to it."

With that he looked at his passionate partner, a predatory look on his face.

"Okay. I can call back another time. Take care."

He hung up quickly. Something had been off in Eric's voice. In a weird way.

He put her phone on silent, and led her up the stairs to his room.

They were both apprehensive as they climbed into bed together.

They were each only in their unmentionables.

They were about to take the last step. They were only a few seconds away from validation.

She vocalized the concerns they were both feeling.

"I feel a little too drunk for this. Maybe we should wait until I can remember it, at least? Can we please just cuddle for tonight?"

Her face was afraid.

He hated that. That needed to change. Right now.

"Yes, love. Come here. Let me hold you."

Her mind was freed of its fears.

He was a good man, and Violet was so grateful to have him.

And they were oh so content, even though neither of them had gotten what they'd wanted; in the end, what felt right was more pure.

They weren't ready for emotional connections or attachments yet.

And yet they could still love with the whole of their souls.

The Origin found it remarkable.

He was proud.

The future Markus backed away into the shadows of the throne room, unneeded as of yet.

Two others were fueling their love, in a far different place.

It had been several days since Eric had collapsed, now.

Kousei Arima washed his partners back, scrubbing diligently.

There were times in their relationship that were stormy.

Today was one of those times.

They'd had an argument over Hawaii.

Kousei was all for it, and Kaori now thought it was "irresponsible" to go away for so long.

He knew she was just jealous that he was talking to Violet daily.

She had no reason to be jealous, and yet he could still feel it through her side of the bond; that is, when she left it open.

He turned his attention to her body again.

She hadn't been eating much recently.

They coped with the weather differently.

She had fallen into a bit of a depression. He knew that Hawaii would help with that, but she couldn't see that.

He coped with it by trying hard to find an escape.

Hawaii was the escape he was looking for.

It was time to put in hours off. He was gonna do it.

For himself, and for Kaori.

He would put in her hours off, too.

He had gotten the confirmation from Violet and a copy of the tickets had been faxed through.

He was ready for his greatest escape yet.

He felt a tug through the bond, bringing him back to reality.

He still had her hair to wash, after all.

He sighed tiredly.

It was 11:00 AM in Oahu, and for once, Meredith Davidson was home for lunch.

The three of them sat out on the back patio.

Meredith had been having suspicions about her twin children.

Of course, that had been before finding them cuddling in bed together.

They didn't know she knew yet.

So they were both at ease, happy and content, when out of the blue; "Why were you two in bed together?"

They both froze.

Their eyes met.

They were silent.

Meredith broke the silence;

"Look, you two. I don't really approve. I truly don't. But you guys are almost 18. If this is what you want, and you're in love, I'm willing to support you after you move out."

They both breathed sighs of relief, the chicken florentine forgotten.

"But your father will not react the same way. Eric, he will come after you if he finds out about this. But my opinion is this. If you want to go ahead and be physically intimate, I will look the other way. Just be safe, and don't let me see it."

Violet and Eric both had the decency to blush.

Their mother's phone chose this perfect moment to ring.

Meredith looked at it.

"That'd be work, calling me in. I'll see you two. I love you. Just please, don't let your father find out."

She walked back into the house. Meredith Davidson was proud, in a way. They weren't afraid to love, and as she looked back to the patio; she saw her son embracing her daughter.

It was suddenly very bright outside.

She squinted, and turned back around.

She didn't know it, but she had just seen light in its most pure form.

The Halo.

Violet gazed up at Eric. He was backlit by radiance.

She stood up, right into his arms.

Their life together had just started in earnest.

If their mother was willing to support them, she knew they had a shot at being happy together.

Eric whispered this into her ear; "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled. "Yes. You know that I love you without condition, as well. I don't have to ask."

And that was how it was supposed to be.

Later that evening, their father came home, and greeted them as usual.

Eric immediately felt uncomfortable.

He felt scrutinized. Their father had looked at the way Eric had his arm around Violet.

He'd said nothing of it.

But Eric was feeling paranoid as it was, and needed out from the constant pressure of home.

As soon as Clark Davidson left the room, Eric whispered in her ear.

"We're going out. Now. Go get your sandals and get your swimsuit on and I'll get the wine. Meet me at the Monte Carlo in ten minutes, ready to go. We're hitting the north side of Oahu tonight."

She said nothing, but did what he said.

They both went up the steps at the same time.

When they came out minutes later, ready with swim garb under their clothes visible, Clark thought nothing of it. When Eric came back upstairs with the wine, he was questioned, but not intensely.

"You two going out?" Their father's left eyebrow was raised, amused.

"Yup. North Beach, tonight." Eric was as calm as possible.

"Well… have fun." Eric didn't notice the hint of suspicion in his father's eyes.

They left in a hurry.

 _What were his children trying to hide?_

They were out on the highway, and in the clear.

The wind blew passed them in the usual fashion, and they were soon halfway to their destination, but stuck in traffic.

Violet leant over to her partner and gave him a kiss on the cheek; a little thank-you for driving.

She hadn't wanted to.

He'd been nice enough to oblige her.

Her eyes were luminescent, and her expression gentle.

"Gosh, I'm so grateful for you."

He knew that already.

The landscape continued to shift as Eric sped through the cities and countryside alike.

They were happy, as they pulled in to the beach hours later.

Violet stepped out first, noticing something odd. He got out shortly after her.

Doors slammed, and Violet spoke.

"Looks like the beach is pretty empty tonight. I get to have you all to myself. Isn't that neat," she said, as she took off her shirt, revealing her swimsuit.

He had the decency to look away, but was encouraged.

"No. Look. I'm all yours. You're not getting rid of me, so get used to seeing my body. Are you going to look away when we have sex? Of course not."

He looked back at her, and she removed her bottoms, too.

She did a little turn around for him.

"Like what you see?"

He mumbled something.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you," she said, jokingly.

"You already know that I think you're beautiful."

There was only the chirping of the insects and the crashing of the waves filling their ears.

He took off his shirt, laying it inside her car like she had with her clothes.

"Walk beside me?"

He held out his hand.

She took it readily.

"Always."

And so they walked off into the night, merging with the background.

The water lapped at their feet as they stood at the water's edge.

Violet broke the noise of the waves.

"You mean the world to me. I would truly give up everything for you."

He knew it was true, and spoke himself:

"I do know that, and would do the same for you."

They looked out into the dark waves, lit by nothing but the stars and the tiny crescent that was the moon.

Their love surrounded them, and they felt for the first time what it felt like to be bonded at the soul.

They felt warm when it was cold, they felt passionate when they were normally anything but bold.

Everything was perfect. For now.

For in the dark, things hid, lying in wait.

Their happiness wasn't to be short-lived.

But they would have to fight for it.

Eric would soon know just what Death meant.

The Origin grimaced, far away, knowing what was to come.

And he didn't like it.

His child was going to be forced through a lot, soon.

He gestured with his hand, warping reality casually.

The tides calmed.

It was his gift, to a pair that deserved calm waters.

They deserved so much more, but their love for each other would make anything else seem trivial.

Because everything else is trivial, when you're truly in love.

And as he froze time and stepped in front of them, he made a decision that would change their lives.

He already knew what would come of this; and he couldn't see any downside to them being just a little happier than they would be otherwise.

He made their connection visible.

He stepped back to his throne room.

And he let go of time.

The world was suddenly sky, all around them.

They both looked towards the other's chest.

A thin line connected them.

Violet's eyes narrowed.

She felt his heart beat more than ever before.

"What is this?"

She was hit by a warmth, his love for her being projected to her, somehow.

It suffused through her, and she suddenly was comfortable.

They reached out at the same time, and their hands touched.

It was like they were feeling love for the first time.

The clouds in the sky around them spiraled down around them, twisting into a warm column of air that opened up to the sky at the top.

Their heartbeats synced.

The air around them exploded into flames that didn't burn, wrapping around them like a fiery tornado.

The fire was every color they had ever seen.

They just stopped and stared at each other, both of their hearts filling with joy.

They were joyous, because they saw each other's true selves for the first time.

They both started tearing up, the multicolored light around them lighting up their tears in colors they could hardly even comprehend.

Eric cried because she was even more beautiful than he would have ever known.

Violet cried because she saw him laid bare. She learned by seeing things that aren't visible.

In that tornado of flame, they saw what the Origin saw, for just a brief moment.

They saw what their souls looked like. Like suns pressed into a human outline, almost. Aside from the eyes.

Eric's soul was a bright gold. The color of his eyes was grey. The color of an Angel.

The gold represented a hero. The brave. The savior.

Violet knew that fit him. He'd just never had too many chances to be brave.

But he'd always done the right thing when put in a perilous situation.

Valiant. Egregious. Steadfast. He would defend her forever.

Violet's soul was an emerald green, lush and deep. The color of her true eyes was grey as well.

The green of life filled the fiery contours of her elegant design. The green of benevolent giving, from the Earth to the living.

She was the embodiment of kindness.

And Eric thought that fit pretty well.

She was beautiful because she was kind.

Kind to everyone, loving of almost everyone.

Tolerant. Patient. Loving. She would wait forever for him.

But there was so much more about them that they were learning, standing on the beach that wasn't a beach anymore.

They were in two places at once.

If anyone were to look at their physical bodies, they would see the two holding hands and their eyes glowing through the night sky.

But their spirits were still inside the fires of Paradise found.

They looked at each other. They let go of the others hand.

The fires didn't go away, almost if prompting them to do something.

They came to an understanding, the bond between them sharing one's thoughts with the other and vice versa.

They had to do something, so they did what felt the most right.

They embraced. They kissed. They let the love flow.

And the covenant between them was sealed.

They were now more deeply bonded than human marriage could ever make them.

They were on the path to becoming Angels in earnest. They were pure and loving, but they were missing the hardships that would make them strong.

But as the fires and the sky around them disappeared, the Origin thought to himself that the hardships would find them soon enough.

Soon enough indeed.

The two of them had came back to reality.

Their eyes were filled with clarity.

"That was something." Violet was still a little stunned.

When the secrets of the person you love most are laid bare for you to see, anyone would be emotional.

And Violet Davidson was no exception.

She was still a little teary-eyed, as she beckoned for him to close the gap between them for an embrace.

He closed the gap. Their foreheads were pressed together.

Deja vu, but also not.

"Yes. I think I might understand you better now. And Violet? I don't think I'll ever need another woman in my life."

She knew that he was all she needed, but was too afraid to say anything. _"Why am I so anxious?"_

"I don't know, honestly. It's not as if you're my everything or something like that." Eric said, almost out of nowhere.

Her eyebrows went up.

The warm breeze blew around them, and the palms swayed in the distance.

" _It's almost as if-"_

"I know what you're thinking?" Eric finished for her.

The two of them froze. That was different.

Violet decided to test it, glancing for the first time down at the thread between them, and then back at Eric.

" _Kiss me."_ She prompted.

He rolled his eyes, before pulling her in for a short kiss.

She was still red-faced at the end of it. She always was. She hoped that he was always able to make her feel that special.

She hoped that this feeling would never go away.

This was something different.

Their love was growing in ways they never would have expected.

As they embraced again, just because they could, their bodies were filled with warmth. The thread between them hummed with happiness. Two more children had found their intended opposites.

Another pair of bonded walked the Earth, now.

For now, though, they were just content with making the trip home.

Clark Davidson sat at home, bourbon in hand.

He was annoyed, and a little worried.

It was 2:00 AM and they still weren't home yet. He was almost ready to lock them out. But their mother wouldn't be happy with him if he did.

But even as he finished his bourbon, the ice clinking in the glass as he sat it down, he saw the car lights pull into the driveway.

His children entered the front door.

He was greeted by two entirely sober children.

"Hey dad. How was your evening?" Violet was as pleasant as ever.

He responded gruffly; "I was worried about you two. I didn't expect you to be out this late. Do I need to ground you?"

Eric's body language shifted, stepping in front of Violet. His father had a minor in anthropology, and instantly knew something was off. That was significant, that little step.

"I don't think so. Traffic was just slow coming home, I'm sorry." Eric tried his best to appease his father.

Clark Davidson shook his head and sighed.

"Well it's fine. I was just worried. Wanted to know if you were safe, you know?"

Their father didn't often say things like that, being a distant, if likable, individual.

"I understand that. By the way, did you get the flights for the two musicians booked?"

Violet changed the subject quickly.

Their father was silent for a moment, and then fished two forms out of a manilla file folder laying on the arm of the couch.

"Yes. They're flying in in two weeks. Transportation will have to be on them, so make sure you let them know today."

They both nodded, but Violet was the one that responded and took the forms from him.

"Okay. I'll fax them a copy in the morning." Violet was quick to agree.

There was an awkward silence before Clark got up, handing his glass to Eric.

"Take care of this, will you? I'm going to bed."

Their old man climbed the stairs, hobbling slightly because of the football injury he'd taken in the 11th grade.

The thuds of his footsteps as he went up the stairs were uneven.

But their father was anything but crippled.

He had turned to bodybuilding in college as a hobby, and was 260 pounds of raw force on a 6'9" frame.

There was a reason Eric was afraid of having a confrontation with their father.

They were separated by an entire weight class.

If they came to blows, Eric would not come out the victor.

He could never be allowed to find out.

But Clark already knew the essentials.

He had moved in front of Violet in a bid to protect her physically.

Something humans generally only do with mates, or with children.

That made Clark feel a little uneasy.

"What are they up to?" He whispered to himself, as he settled into bed.

Downstairs, things were starting to heat up.

Eric had Violet pinned to the couch.

Pinned being subjective. She _wanted_ to be there.

" _Kiss me. Now."_

Her thoughts echoed around his head for a second before they locked lips.

Her lips were soft against his own as they pressed their bodies up against each other.

Her athletic, svelte body felt plush when you really got to feel it.

Eric found that this was a pleasant surprise, and something he had not at all expected.

Violet was discovering things of her own. She knew he had abs.

But what she was feeling up against her own stomach was so firm it could be used to grind meat.

Their mother then took a moment to look through the side window before she entered the house.

What she saw made even her blush.

She coughed loudly, and the two of them heard her through the open window.

Eric quickly got off of Violet, and they scampered upstairs as their mother came inside.

They were in trouble, but not from their mother.

Death was watching.

A dark place, stowed away in between dimensions was where Death called home.

His dark throne was surrounded by a dark whirlpool of tortured souls, unrepentant for their pasts.

He had watched the two of them fall in love.

He knew about their potential, but didn't really care.

He was jealous.

He had no one.

He never would have anyone.

No one ever prayed for Death.

No one knew how tortured he was.

He was jealous of them for another reason.

He was less than a full soul.

That made him toxic to be around.

He was only a tenth of the Origin's original soul.

That lack of substance sapped away at other people's souls.

That was why the only thing he could do was take away life.

He couldn't create very well. They were less than cognizant, the things he created.

He couldn't love. The emotions just dwelled with the other 90% of the Origin.

Unless the individual had tremendous spiritual strength, even him being around would weaken the connections between the soul and body.

He felt mocked, watching them.

They didn't know who they were dealing with, apparently.

They would find out who they were dealing with soon enough.

But for the time being, Violet and Eric were holed up in Violet's room.

Their mother had turned in with their father after graciously turning a blind eye to their activities.

And she hadn't questioned them going to bed together, either.

Violet was currently getting into her nightclothes, while Eric tried not to stare.

"Hey. Once again, just look, okay? This body is just as much yours as it is mine."

Her eyes were loving and playful.

She took off her shirt and shorts, discarding them.

She untied her swimsuit quickly, the pieces falling to the ground.

He did look at her then.

His eyes roamed across her body.

After two minutes of etching her perfection into his mind, he finally spoke.

"Okay. Sorry I was just making sure that I would remember this."

She smirked. "That's fine. I have all the patience in the world, for you."

There was an awkward pause.

"Are you going to get dressed and come to bed?"

He said this quietly enough so that their parents wouldn't hear.

She rolled her eyes and got dressed in some regular underwear and light pajamas.

While she preferred nightgowns to pajamas, there was something to be said about a nice set of flannel pajama bottoms. They kept the massive expanse of skin that was her legs warm.

She plopped her cute self in next to him, sheets already messed up.

She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek before she shut off the lamp light.

"Goodnight, Eric. I love you."

She squeezed him in a warm hug.

He hugged back.

"I love you too."

He was tearing up.

He didn't deserve her.

Even though she didn't know about the tears forming in his eyes, she hugged him just a little harder before finally letting go.

The love in the room was an atmosphere all its own, and it quickly soothed them to sleep.

Violet heard the floor of her room creak slightly as she tried to doze off.

Then she felt a knife against her throat, and hot breath on the back of her neck.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I was going through some personal stuff which slowed down the pace of my writing.

I hope that you all enjoyed it.

Please review.


	20. The Foe Possessed

Chapter 20: The Foe Possessed

The breath on her neck made Violet freeze up.

She felt part of herself shrivel up and die when the man spoke.

"Hello, young lady."

His voice was raspy. Not old raspy, but smoker raspy.

The knife against her throat was small.

A hunting knife?

She couldn't tell what he wanted. She had a sickening suspicion, which was rising in the back of her mind like bile in the back of someone's mouth.

She twitched.

The blade twitched with her.

"Ah ah ah. No movement. I wouldn't want my prey to be without any fight."

His breath did smell like cigarettes.

She just nodded her head, compliant and afraid.

"Okay. Now. Move out of your bed. Slowly, shifting your weight perfectly on those long legs of yours. If he wakes up, you're dead."

He was still fast asleep.

There were no dreams running through his head.

He was floating in the dark.

Almost like he was in an underground lake, floating on his back, with sounds filtering down from the surface.

At first, he felt a tug on his essence. Something felt off. Wrong.

Evil.

Then Eric heard him whisper.

"...now take off your clothes before I slit your throat."

Eric didn't know what to think about that.

Then he heard a much more familiar voice.

"Okay. I'll do whatever you say. Please just don't hurt him."

Violet.

His eyes snapped open.

They were grey, and they quickly saw what was wrong.

Someone had Violet, and was about to have their way with her.

He still hadn't moved yet.

He had to move. But she was in danger.

The man's back was to him.

Violet was quivering as she started to pull off her nightgown.

"Please just be gentle." She grimaced.

He was out of the bed before she could even process the fact that he was awake.

He was so angry.

His eyes were glowing.

Eric jumped up, swinging his leg around.

The criminal crumpled to the side as Eric's leg slammed into his right side.

Eric quickly moved in between the man and Violet, putting his arm out and motioning for her to stay back.

The man had been slammed into the ground.

But Eric hadn't taken into account weight for this fight.

The man merely got back up, mostly unfazed.

He was matter of fact as he rose up to his full height of six foot flat. He was stockier than Eric.

This was going to be hard fought, and Eric knew it.

Eric had a height advantage, but only weighed 170 pounds.

They squared up.

Eric pulled himself to his full height and tensed up.

The scowl on his face was only punctuated by his fierce grey eyes.

From Violet's point of view, he was making himself into as much of a protective wall for her as he could.

He would defend her to the death, if he had to.

The man settled into a basic brawling stance.

Eric's mind thought back to his brief time in boxing.

If he was a brawler, he'd try to use reach against his opponent.

The problem for him is that Eric was the taller one.

"I'm going to kill you." Eric wasn't going to back down.

He was ready when the man shifted forward.

Eric dodged to the side, grabbing the man's arm and slipping around him, pulling him into an arm bar.

Violet got a good look at the man's face.

He was in his thirties, and Caucasian.

He looked like an average tourist, really.

Eric was too busy pivoting on his left foot and throwing the man out the doorway to Violet's room. He slammed into the hallway wall.

When Eric pursued him, the man was already throwing a punch at the side of his head, standing right at the doorway, trying to hide out of sight.

Eric saw something out of the side of his vision.

He ducked back and felt the fist graze his left eyebrow.

Eric instinctively forced his knee up into the man's ribcage. He heard cracks.

He sputtered, his lungs screaming as they were being crushed.

He was then flung backwards by the force behind the blow.

He laid on the floor for the moment.

As Eric watched, steam started to pour from the man's body.

Regeneration.

The Origin watched in surprise.

It was time for Eric to awaken.

The man cackled as he stood up.

"That girl is going to be so sweet when I have her on the floor, writhing underneath me."

Eric's expression hardened.

His earlier anger was back, and he was ready to put this guy down.

He was in front of the man in an instant.

His foot slammed across the possessed man's face.

He hit the wall hard, making a solid thud.

He was done. His pawn was broken.

Another failure.

Death sat on his chair.

He started to remove his influence. But the man surprised him when he started to get up.

He was durable.

He was going to get that girl, no matter what.

He just had to get past this little brat.

And then her purity would be his to claim.

That was what Death had whispered into his ear.

He would finally get to feel like a real man.

He just had to do one tiny little task, and she would be his to mutilate.

He had to kill the boy.

But he'd gotten distracted.

As his body healed, he cracked his neck to the side.

They burst forward at the same instant, hands coming together in a tightly-gripping struggle.

They both looked into the other's eyes.

The man saw hatred so intense, he was almost intimidated.

Eric saw lust, and darkness.

This man was going to rape and destroy the person he loved the most.

Eric was going to murder him, unless he was stopped.

No one stopped Eric from slamming his forehead into the man's nose.

The man let go as he started to bleed.

"Fuck! You little shit!"

He clutched at his face.

As soon as he started to try and retaliate, Eric ducked around him, sliding across the floor.

From behind, Eric stomped down on the back of the man's heel, knocking him off-balance.

Eric caught him as he fell back, grabbing him by the throat.

He quickly slammed the man down into the hardwood flooring, shattering the back of his skull on impact, and crushing the spinal cord where it connected to the brain.

Eric stood over the man's body as steam stopped pouring from it.

Eric's breathing was so heavy by this point from the overexertion of his spiritual force that he was essentially asleep on his feet.

But he knew he wasn't done.

He had to make it look like nothing more than self-defense. An accident.

Eric shoved the body down the stairs.

And he promptly collapsed into Violet's arms.

When the police arrived, their parents did the talking. Their father had stood watch over the comatose man until the authorities arrived, making sure he couldn't leave.

Clark Davidson had been surprised at his son's bravery.

Not anyone would be willing to face a threat like that head-on.

When Eric had initially awoken, Clark had told him for the first time in years that he was proud of him.

Eric hadn't known what to say.

The authorities loaded the man up, took statements from the family, and left.

The official story was that Eric awoke to hearing a struggle from his sister's room, which was just around the corner from his own room. Their bathroom was on the corner between them, so from the bathroom's excellent acoustics, he heard her fighting for her life.

He rushed to save her.

He ended up bloodying the man's nose, and knocking him down the stairs, where he subsequently damaged his neck and skull, and slipped into a coma.

The official story anyway. The rehearsed story.

Meredith had been the one to compose that one, after discussing what had happened with her son and daughter.

Clark had been standing watch at that point, so he didn't know that his son had actually already been in the room when the confrontation started.

The police found that Eric's story lined up with what happened.

They hauled away the man, a normal tourist, and within minutes the two children were sent back to bed, this time separately, to Violet's utter dismay.

Violet was lonely and exhausted.

Anxious and in shock.

She needed cuddles. Right now. She didn't care if her parents heard her go into Eric's room.

She needed him, in that very moment.

So she moved.

Eric had been tossing and turning for the past hour. It was four o' clock.

He couldn't sleep, but he wasn't allowed to be up yet, either.

His parents would be getting up soon enough, and as he heard footsteps move toward his room, he couldn't help but expect one of his parents to pay him a visit.

When the beauty that was Violet entered the room, even as disheveled as she was, his whole expression softened.

She looked miserable, and rushed onto the bed and into his arms.

He held her for a moment before tucking her in under the covers next to himself.

The bags under her eyes showed how tired she was. She was worn out.

He kissed her goodnight as those tired eyes closed, with Violet falling into a healthy sleep.

She was finally with him.

She would be okay, now.

As her own body started to recover from stress with its deep slumber, Eric couldn't help but snuggle closer to her, spooning her from behind.

This was what made fighting for her worth it.

Their love.

He faded into the darkness of dreamless sleep.

The last thing he knew before he blacked out was that her hair smelled like citrus and pine.

And he felt her soul, too.

She felt like the Earth itself.

Full of life.

Elegant but complicated.

Sometimes cruel but unusually hospitable.

The definition of undeserved kindness.

The world had no right to have someone as amazing as Violet Davidson in it.

And he knew that.

He felt honored to be by her side.

And then they fell asleep.

Purities intact.

They awoke the next morning at 9.

Violet blinked, noticing Eric stretching next to their bed.

He was getting ready for a long day. They were going to have to talk about… the thread.

She had been wondering about it for some time.

As she opened her mouth to ask him what he thought it was, he spoke up himself.

"It's a connection between our souls. Like how Markus connected to you on the ambulance, but more permanent. I know exactly what you're thinking instinctively."

He was deadpan, and clearly exhausted from the fight earlier that day.

She sat up, dropping the covers from around her.

She blinked a few times.

She went to ask him about what she was thinking.

"You are thinking about asking me about what I think you are thinking."

She stopped, blinked some more, and got up, kissing him on the cheek.

"Too early to do anything but cook for you. Come on."

She was tired and worried for him.

They sat at the breakfast table, both with bags under their eyes. Their features had genuine smiles as they held hands from across the table.

Their connection pulsed.

They were filled with the feeling of a warm sea breeze, their love for each other fueling that soft wind.

They felt real contentment, the likes of which they hadn't often had the occasion to feel.

Eric turned away from her slightly, and Violet noticed a scratch on his neck.

It was inflamed, and full of something. Violet didn't like this sort of surprise.

"...I'm going to go get some medical supplies from upstairs. Stay."

He stayed, and did as he was told.

By the time she was done dressing the wound, his food was barely warm.

He dug in.

In between mouthfuls he managed to declare his thanks for the scrambled eggs.

"Thanks Vi, love you."

She turned away and blushed.

She knew he meant it. Everything emanating from him practically screamed contentment.

"I love you too."

They were alone in the house.

As Eric finished his meal, he noticed something on their corkboard.

The Summer Soiree.

Veranda open mic, with piano.

They would be ready.

That was Kaori, after Eric texted them about the Soiree.

They would be ready to perform.

They may have only had a week, but they would be ready.

What sort of music would they make together? Violet and Eric had no idea the intensity that love could have.

Conveying love was even more difficult than finding it.

"And I'll _play for you_ ev'ry day…."

The lyric was self-made.

That didn't mean it made no sense.

It made perfect sense.

Kousei thought it fit rather well.

Kaori thought it fit well too, from across their house, through their connection.

They were ready.

Ready to get away from the typhoons.

Ready to get away from work.

Ready to get away from the neighbors.

Kousei sighed, and started to write his work schedule down on their calendar.

He put his phone down.

He was coming to be at peace.

She was taking a bath, and her relaxation was washing over him. Maybe if he laid down for a bit...

Their week had been long.

They only had a day left until they were to leave.

It felt like yesterday that Kousei had written his schedule down. But it had been the entire week. He was off today and tomorrow, for packing purposes.

They were really going to do it.

Their excitement was infectious.

The twins were not as excited for the couple's arrival. They had to plan everything, and even though most of the planning was done, it was time to execute it. Violet was in her room, reclining and lounging.

She was listening to some old funk music.

" _Why is this such a bop?"_

She felt something across her connection with Eric.

It felt like an "Idk."

" _Smart aleck."_

His reply felt like a "Mmhm."

The trumpet echoed into her ears.

Rise by Herb Alpert.

It was almost older than her parents. Almost.

But it was still good music.

As the song faded out, her playlist ended.

Her eyes closed and she fell into a light slumber.

Eric felt her slip into bliss. She finally felt a little content.

She hadn't had any time to do her favorite thing lately.

Their parents had been around too much.

They hadn't had time to cuddle. The absence of the snuggles stressed Violet out.

She just wanted to be in his arms.

The pace of their intimacy had slowed.

Eric dwelled on his own stress. She needed him. But he wasn't allowed to do anything.

He didn't want to out their entire relationship, after all.

Their parents would be leaving for their night shifts soon.

He would sneak into her room then.

And indeed, he did. The two lovebirds dozed together, entirely relaxed.

Today was their day.

Their bodies were pressed together in a tight spoon, legs entangled.

His arms were wrapped around her waist.

Despite the sexual nature of their position, sleep is the ultimate mediator.

You cannot do wrong if you are entirely unconscious.

Their sleep was pure, and their position was made pure by it.

Intent is important in situations like this.

Eric got in bed with her, yes.

But his intent was as pure as a mountain stream.

He wanted to be by her side.

There is no need to consent to purity.

Violet was beautiful, even when resting.

Eric was handsome, even when dozing off.

They were a solid match.

They really were.

They both slept quietly, their bond sparking with love and intimacy.

Their dreams were connected, and intimate.

They couldn't have that much intimacy while awake.

So the moments of splendor and romantic trepidation found in those dreams were like paradise.

Simply perfect.

Sendai airport wasn't what Kaori would call perfection.

It was growing on her. But only a little.

The lounge was quiet. They had gotten excellent first class seats.

The twin's parents had connections everywhere as world-class surgeons.

They had pulled some strings for Violet's endeavor.

As the two settled in for a quiet two hours, Kaori relaxed a little.

But only a little.

And before they knew it, the assistant was informing them that they had an hour until their flight.

They were out of the lounge within five minutes, scurrying to their platform.

It was a normal airline gate, with a few fast food chains around it.

Kaori had been looking for McDonalds, but found that KFC was closer.

Not to mention the fact that Kousei loved Kentucky Fried.

They only ate out occasionally because of his culinary skills, but one place they ate at frequently was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Kousei could eat an entire 5 piece by himself, including sides and biscuits. She usually thought it was obscene, the amount of fried chicken he could eat.

When she informed him and his drowsy self that there was a KFC nearby, he perked up visibly.

"Ooh. Fried chicken. Let's do it."

He was slightly more awake now. Of course food would be the thing to get him alert enough to function.

They ordered quickly, and sat down nearby.

They made a joke through their bond about bombs and airports, thinking back to the last time they had eaten in Sendai airport.

Kousei chuckled, and started to eat. He was a superhuman eater when it came to KFC.

Another person that was a superhuman eater just happened to be around, too.

An old friend.

His hair was as ruffled as ever, and he was poorly dressed, but they could both tell it was Watari.

He was waiting at a gate across the way.

He looked tired. The girl leaning on his shoulder was familiar, too.

The girl was also about three months pregnant.

Hence the tiredness.

They both just sort of looked at him, and then looked away.

Watari looked up, as his significant other's head fell off his shoulder.

It had felt like he had been watched, until a second ago.

He didn't see anyone out of the ordinary, so he looked back down at his phone.

That had been close, the two of them thought.

It was time to board by the time they were done eating.

As they walked down the steps, one thing happened.

Kousei and Watari locked eyes.

Kaori and Kousei were the first to board.

They didn't look back.

Not even for a second.

In Hawaii, the twins were patiently waiting.

Kaori and Kousei were due to arrive soon.

The tension between them as they sat in the Monte Carlo in the waiting line was intense.

This was it.

Violet sat in the driver's side, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel anxiously. Eric's aura was full of nervousness. He didn't know what to expect.

Their first meeting had been pleasant enough, he supposed.

He held Violet's hand as two people exited the automatic doors.

It was time.

They let go of each other's hands.

She gave him a reassuring smile.

He responded in kind.

Eric got out.

He loomed over the two Japanese citizens, by more than a foot, in Kaori's case.

His mouth formed a friendly greeting as he extended his massive hand towards Kousei.

"Hell-YH-o."

Violet groaned as his voice broke from all the stress.

He retracted his hand awkwardly.

The two guests turned to each other knowingly and chuckled a little.

Kaori spoke up first.

"Hello, Eric. Nice to see you again. I'm assuming your sister is in the car?"

Her face looked calculating. An odd look on her.

He responded; "Nice to meet you on a first name basis, Kaori. Yes, Vi is in the car."

He turned to Kousei, re-extending his hand.

"Hello Kousei. How was the flight?"

Kousei smirked.

"Annoyingly long. But we're okay, right hon?"

She held his hand.

Eric noticed a flush run through their hands and up their bodies.

That was odd.

Kaori replied that she was indeed fine.

They loaded up their luggage, the status quo having been established.

Eric was the man in the entire situation.

Kaori was in charge of Kousei.

He was a quiet guy.

She was not a quiet woman.

Violet was a quiet woman, but one who had quiet strength.

Eric was the out-loud strength to her quiet strength. For sure.

There was no other way for Kousei to describe Eric other than loud.

He was a socially loud person. Someone who could part a crowd, and be allowed to speak up over others, because they wanted to hear his opinion.

He was impressed. Eric hadn't been like this before.

At the competition, Eric had seemed secondary to his twin.

Now they seemed to be closer to equals, in terms of personality.

Whatever had happened in the weeks in between now and then, Eric had grown up a little.

They got in the car, sweeping into the back seat, Eric plopping himself down next to Violet. She turned around and spoke; "Hello. Nice to see you two again."

She was just as radiant as ever, Kousei noticed.

Kaori jabbed him in the ribs, but only slightly.

There was an awkward silence.

Kaori broke it, equally radiant; "Nice to see you again as well, Violet."

She surprised Violet by leaning forward and hugging her.

"I hope we find you two in good spirits."

Violet hugged back after a second.

She felt something she didn't expect. Ribs.

" _Kaori is… really thin. Is this healthy?"_

She doubted it.

As Kaori pulled away, Violet put a smile on over her look of concern.

And that was the end of their introductions.

It had been arranged that they would leave for the Davidson residence at 12:00 PM.

It was 11:58. Close enough for Violet.

They left, and soon found themselves on the highway that led right to the house.

It wasn't really a long drive home, and they all put their windows down.

Some Shostakovich on CD didn't hurt things either.

The wind whipped through everyone's hair, with Violet's long tresses being the most wild in the swift breeze.

A look out of Kaori's side showed a temperamental storm brewing.

By the time they pulled into the driveway of the beach house on the south side of Oahu, it was 12:25 PM, and the storm was almost upon them.

The men hauled in the luggage while the girls took in the carry-ons alongside Kaori's violin and music folder.

They all sat in the living room. Now that they were all in the same place, they didn't really know what to talk about.

In between the two couples, a sort of tension was building.

They just didn't know it yet.

What would come to a head later, they couldn't possibly have known.

Violet decided to make lunch as the storm raged outside.

Eric joined her, sautéing some onions and the prepped chicken.

Violet cut the french bread, getting it b-ready to be made into sandwiches.

Kaori, to be frank, was impressed and maybe just a little bit jealous of Violet's cooking prowess. She was clearly more practiced with a knife.

Kaori watched her cut the chicken into slices, and get the mushroom sauce ready.

The two watched the twins cook for around 25 minutes.

They made for quite a pair, when they cooked.

They were completely in sync.

By the time the two were done cooking, the smells had transfused the air pleasantly.

The bright light of the dining room contrasted the darkness outside.

The sound of the rain pitter-pattered on the roof and on the windows.

They ate silently.

The twins figured that was a good thing, while they both analyzed the professional musicians' eating habits.

Kousei ate like he always did. He didn't care for etiquette much. He just ate a little bit faster than Kaori.

She herself wasn't too much better with etiquette, but she was more prim and proper, to be sure.

There wasn't too much to be said, during the meal.

Until a small ping sounded from the oven.

They tried to ignore it at first, but when the smell of gas started to fill the house, they all reacted differently.

Kousei froze, sniffing the air.

Violet got out of her chair slowly.

Kaori looked at Kousei.

Eric looked at Violet.

The storm outside was creating lightning.

If the storm created so much as a spark, they would all be done for.

Eric got his phone out, and dialed 911.

The fire department took care of the gas leak quickly enough.

The older Davidsons were both called, based on policy alone.

By the time the four of them had calmed down enough to talk, the two guests wanted some time for themselves.

They were given the guest room, next to Eric's.

It was usually used for their Uncle Tucker when he visited.

The room was basic compared to the others, because of its lack of use.

Its simplicity was fine with Kousei and Kaori, who both just needed rest.

They fell asleep in their day clothes, spooning loosely.

The twins were listening to a piece of music over a glass of wine.

Their own way of relaxing.

Today was a dry white paired with a latin chart named Calera.

They sat cozily on the couch, under the electric blanket.

Violet was calming down nicely.

She leaned into his chest after putting her drink down on the side table.

She closed her eyes, and put just a tiny bit of love through their bond.

He responded in kind, flushed and warm.

The soft ocean breeze caressed their souls, silky and warm.

This was their paradise.

They deserved rest, too.

They were both asleep in minutes.

Blissfully unaware of everything going on around them.

Things were happening.

Plans were being set into motion.

Evil was stirring, in its dark little hole.

The hole had moved into someone's chest, burrowing into their soul.

But whose?

Eric shifted in his sleep, restful.

Violet's eyes moved under their lids because of her dream.

Kaori moved back, closer to Kousei.

Kousei slept more deeply than any of them.

None of them knew which was the home of terror.

But they would know soon.

That was for certain.

 _Dwelling in the dark_

 _Evil was stirring._

 _With nothing to stop_

 _It's crooked little soul from purring._

 _One sacrifice for one half-life_

 _Two sacrifices for all lives_

 _If one dies and the other survives_

 _Everyone else will be the sacrifice_

 _Sin is stirring in an angel._

 _Nothing is able to stop its encroachment._

 _Two as one will be able to separate_

 _Only after the future is made forfeit._

 _Time is running out_

 _And running in_

 _And running away._

 _Which way will it move next?_

Author's note: Sorry this took so long.

Please review.


	21. The Countdown Begins

Chapter 21: The Countdown Begins

The next day dawned with a timeless beauty.

The Hawaiian skyline was serene and natural.

Eric and his other half were snuggled up intimately.

They were in Eric's room.

The two were completely content in their spooning.

Until a knock on the door woke them.

Their father's voice echoed throughout the room, through the door.

"Eric, I'm coming in."

Violet's eyes were open and glowing instantly.

The fear on her face was pure and unadulterated.

She needed to get out.

Everything important to her was at stake.

There was no way out.

The Origin knew what was going on.

He gave Violet a little gift, with a gesture of his hand.

They would know his will was good only by his actions, after all.

An aura formed around her body, still laying down.

Her father was twisting the doorknob.

Violet imagined her room.

Her eyes flashed. The door started to open.

As suddenly as the door started to open, she was gone.

She was out, the blankets that once held her body filling with empty air.

The world around her for a split second was filled with lights of every hue as she traveled through space with her new ability.

And she was in her room, and on her bed.

She promptly fainted, her body tapped out.

Kaori was just waking up, too.

The sun was right in her eyes.

"Why is that so bright?" She wondered aloud.

"Maybe because it's 9:00 AM and some of us are trying to keep our lives in order." Kousei was being an early bird again.

" _None of the secks for him."_

He flinched across the room.

He turned towards her as she sat up.

"That's uncalled for. We have things to do today."

He was pale.

"Totally necessary, my love. Have to keep you in line. Get back in bed or you aren't getting any the entire time we're here."

" _She's always so aggressive."_

"I heard that."

"I know."

Much like a dog with its tail between its legs, Kousei got back in bed, fully dressed but not daring to annoy his partner.

And so their relationship was.

When Kousei finally struck up the nerve to get out of bed again, Kaori was fast asleep.

There was little coming through the bond, which meant she was in deep sleep.

He got out of bed, still fully dressed, and exited the room, all without alerting Kaori.

He went around the corner and found himself face-to-face with Violet Davidson.

She was dressed a little more like an adult.

Kousei couldn't help but notice the short shorts she was wearing.

" _My god. Those legs."_

He was trying to not perv on her, but that clearly wasn't working.

She clearly shaved very far up on her legs.

Kousei was a little red as they finally made eye contact.

"Um? Is there something wrong with my legs?"

Violet looked for what Kousei was staring at.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

Then she looked back up at him and noticed his blush.

She realized very quickly why he was blushing so brightly.

"Oh. Well then."

It was her turn to blush, now.

And blush she did.

Her expression was a little flattered, and a little bit embarrassed.

"You like my shorts, huh?"

Kousei was flustered, and looked away.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that."

He was torn. Kaori was just in the other room, and here he was, admiring Violet!

She was encouraging.

"It's okay to look. I… had a little bit of a crush on you. That's part of the reason why I asked you to come here."

He looked up at her, and their eyes met.

"Really? All of this, for a little crush?"

She brushed her hair out of her face.

"You wouldn't understand. I was a little thunderstruck when it came to you."

She averted her gaze onto the floor.

"Was?" Kousei questioned.

"Yeah. Was. I'm in a relationship now. We're very happy, but I can't tell you who he is."

Kousei stepped closer.

And then he made a decision that would set into motion the greatest cataclysm that the Earth would ever witness.

"If you want me, you get one chance. One."

He said this quietly and quickly.

Violet flinched, her heartstrings being pulled on. She didn't want a one night stand.

She was worth more than that.

"Is that all I'm worth in your eyes?" Her expression was brittle.

It was Kousei's turn to flinch, at the sound of her dejected voice.

"No. You're worth more than that. But I'm engaged. I can't be with you, and was just trying to give you a chance to live out a fantasy."

She knew this was said solemnly.

She turned away, and glanced back.

"I'm sorry. I just can't do that to him."

Around the corner, Eric had been listening.

His eyes were blaring so brightly that they were producing a physical glare.

The darkness in his heart leeched further onto his soul.

" _Yes. Let your anger grow, Eric, and give me control."_

Eric flinched at the words in his head.

He then forgot what he'd flinched at.

He was still angry, but the emotion felt off.

Eric just turned around and went back to his room.

It was too early for this shit.

Kousei followed Violet downstairs awkwardly.

He knew that he was probably making her feel awkward. But he needed food.

They parted ways at the base of the stairs.

Violet went out back, to the beach.

Eric went to the kitchen.

Violet had gone over what they were allowed to eat the night before.

He got some cereal, and ate.

It was a simple day so far.

It was 9:30 AM.

54 hours remained.

The darkness was encroaching.

But Violet didn't know about any darkness as she bathed in the light of a beautiful morning.

This was her stress relief.

Just being able to smell the sea breeze, and being able to feel it caress her body,

She was alive.

She hadn't betrayed Eric.

Everything was just fine.

She gazed toward the rising sun, and closed her eyes.

But with Eric, everything was not fine. His emotional state was slowly breaking down.

He felt drained. Like he hadn't slept in days.

But he couldn't sleep.

He couldn't even bring himself to be mad at Kousei.

His eyes shut, and he finally slipped into a fitful sleep.

11:30 AM. 52 hours remain.

Eric's eyes barely peel open. His head was pounding.

His saving grace, Violet, was nearby.

He stretched his hand to the left, and felt her there.

She held his hand, and the pain in his head abated.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you need me to draw you a bath? You're so pale."

Violet's eyes were filled with grey-tinged concern.

He barely rasped out; "A bath would be nice."

She smirked. "Okay. And something to drink too. Stay here, love. I'll be back."

He felt her shift off of the bed, and leave the room.

The water in the bathroom started running.

And then the sink turned on briefly.

Shortly thereafter, Violet returned with a cup of water.

"Drink, or you get no more cuddles today."

Eric rolled his eyes.

"Okay, mom."

She turned around, as she had been walking away.

"Don't you sass me. Your cuddles are in jeopardy. Think about that. You don't get to press yourself up against..." she gestured down her back and butt; "all of this. Behave, and you might." Her eyes were grey and sultry. What an odd expression that was, on her.

He blushed somehow, and started to drink immediately.

She was out of the room, and he tried to force his body to relax.

But certain parts wouldn't calm down.

By the time she returned to collect him for his bath, he was writhing in pain.

His legs were cramping up, and badly.

She immediately got to work massaging his legs.

"You know, I didn't sign up to be your physical therapist. So when we finally do end up doing the dirty, you better make sure I need a physical therapist afterwards."

He chuckled through the pain.

"Oh trust me. You will."

Her hands eased the pain, and the tendons started to relax.

He gasped in relief.

The nerves tingled as the pain faded away with the soft movements of Violet's hands.

She looked into his eyes.

"Better?"

"Much. Ready for my bath now, too."

He was blissful compared to the pain of just moments before.

"Then come on. Get yourself up. I even used your favorite bubble bath."

She smirked as she brought up the childhood memories.

There was a pause in their conversation as Eric barely managed to get himself up.

"...you're terrible sometimes. I love you anyway, but that doesn't make you any less terrible."

One of her eyebrows went up; "You didn't seem to think I was terrible at kissing, with how attached you get to my face."

"That's not a fair topic to bring up. The entire sexual side of you cannot be terrible in my eyes, and you know it. You are literally the only person on this planet" he leaned in closer; "that I want to bed. The only person."

She smiled at that. "Yes I am. And I'm proud of that, too."

She sauntered out of the room, and he followed.

The bathroom was perfumed with scents that were nostalgic to Eric.

His childhood.

His early teens.

They were all speaking to him through these scents.

Violet started to help him undress, and he let her take off his shorts and shirt, moving his arms and legs as needed.

He took off his boxer briefs himself, and lowered himself down into the smoothly-cut marble of the bathtub.

It smelled like Violet's hair, which typically smelled like artificial strawberry from her own shampoo.

His old bubble bath was very similar smelling to the shampoo that Violet now used.

Violet undressed as well, revealing all of her feminine beauty to him.

As he stared up at her in sheer awe, Violet cocked an eyebrow:

"I figured you'd like something to keep you awake, and didn't know what else you'd be able to focus intensely on aside from my body."

Her body was amazing.

Her legs were long and svelte.

Her stomach was flat and her oblongs on the sides of her abs were well defined.

Her abs were not overly defined. Their femininity was obvious to even the untrained eye.

Her breasts were small, yes, but pert and firm.

Her arms were birdlike, with thinness and strength.

Her butt was well-toned, with multiple muscle groups defined for the eye to see.

She was the perfect woman, in Eric's eyes.

She leant on the edge of the tub, arms crossed under her chin, knees on the ground.

Her back was arched seductively.

"Kiss me, love."

The thread pulsed intensely.

The sea breeze was back as they kissed.

Her lips were so soft.

Her tongue was pliant.

Her mouth was slippery and perfectly kissable, for frenching or otherwise.

Eric would never get used to kissing Violet. There was just so much to enjoy.

He was running out of breath, and pulled back.

Violet grabbed the body wash and lathered up her hands, leaning over him.

She put his towel underneath her knees, to cushion them.

She started with his legs once again.

After she was done with his legs, he lowered them back into the water.

He lifted his torso out of the water.

She glanced down lower, but he shook his head.

"I don't think my heart could handle it right now."

She smiled warmly.

"Okay. I'll never complain about touching you, though. Just say the word, Eric."

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Vi. You're so understanding." He stuck his chest out of the water even further.

She re-lathered her hands before going back in.

She soaped up his chest and belly, before moving to his back as he turned away from her.

His back was clean very quickly.

He laid back down at her urging.

"I'm going to wash your hair for you."

He couldn't complain about anything right now.

He let her do as she pleased.

Her hands stroked through his hair, getting it ready for the shampoo.

She opened up her shampoo, lathering her hands into a soapy mess.

He pushed himself back until he was slightly out of the water.

She looked down at him as he laid there.

He was so peaceful.

So calm. The intimacy between them was intense, as she washed his hair.

She had the heart of a servant, yes.

But only for the man that was Eric Davidson.

She was his. And he was hers.

This little show of caring wasn't small at all.

It was their love, in the way they decided to show it.

Which made it the biggest, most important thing they'd do that day.

By the time they were done and cuddling again, it was 12:30 PM.

51 hours remained.

Time was ticking and ticking away.

 _Even through the soft intimacy of life_

 _The darkness grows ever more controlling_

 _As we march toward the strife_

 _That can be found at the edge of the end._

 _Even as they look for things in life to mend,_

 _They fall more deeply in love._

 _Such heat from two so young_

 _Is like a message from above._

 _Like a tell of what's to come._

 _What's to come is vicious and cruel._

 _Separation._

 _Hatred._

 _Possession._

 _Who will survive?_

 _Who will ascend?_

 _Who will face their end?_

 _ **Find out next time, on Scars in the Mirror.**_


	22. A Disconnect

Chapter 22: A Disconnect

Their faces were close together when Eric startled out of his sleep. His chest hurt.

"Ack!" He coughed, waking up Violet.

Her eyes snapped open, concerned and maybe just a little annoyed.

"Eric?" Her face grew panicked.

He grasped at his chest, before warding her off.

"It's okay. I'm fine. Just some normal chest pain, I just need my meds. Could you go get them, please?"

She immediately got up to get them from their bathroom medicine cabinet. Little did Eric know that this wasn't routine chest pain.

There was something inside his soul.

A festering darkness.

Death's plan had succeeded, and was coming to fruition.

He sat in the space between dimensions. The pocket had been moved to a more...relevant place.

He would have control soon.

He could already influence the boy, and soon, that influence over him would be overbearing.

He would destroy them all.

They didn't deserve existence.

Kaori and Kousei had met outside on the beach at 1:00. It had been annoyingly bright, so they set up their umbrella and a towel, and just laid down.

Sunbathing was a new concept for both of them. Neither had the rich tan of Eric or even the medium tan of Violet. This was mostly because they spent most of their time inside, pursuing the arts or sleeping.

This is why the two of them had slathered on quite an amount of sunscreen before they went outside.

It had been annoying.

But now, they were happy enough, made drowsy by the sun.

The scrambling of Violet inside was in stark contrast to the visitor's contentment. Her best friend and the love of her life was in pain.

She sat by his bedside while the meds did their job, and his pained gasps slowed, until they turned into soft, exhausted breaths.

She held his hand, their bond helping to sooth the angina.

She laid down next to him, but not too close, as one or both of their parents might come home while they were sleeping.

Also their guests could find them out, but that was almost an afterthought to Violet.

They were content.

Kousei and Kaori were content, too. For now. It is now 2:00 PM, and 49 and a half hours remain.

And all of them slept.

Eric awoke to the soft, mellow tones of music.

He didn't know what it was, but looking to his partner, who lay asleep next to him, he didn't particularly care what it was.

The two guests were in the foyer at the baby grand.

Practicing in Hawaii for the first time.

Kousei turned back to Kaori, as they stopped.

The illusion they'd been weaving shrunk back into their connection.

"That was a little off at the counterpoint, but otherwise solid. The illusion wavered a little there, you remember? Like it went a little grey." Kousei was sweating from all the exertion of playing a difficult piece at full speed.

Kaori nodded.

"Yeah. And in a piece that has so many different tonal colors, we can't let the illusion not reflect that."

She was a little sweaty too, her right arm a little sore from all the down-bows. They connected through their bond. It was time to be done.

"I think that's about enough, how about you?"

Kousei couldn't have said it better himself.

Back upstairs, Eric had turned on the 40's radio.

One of his favorite recordings was on, somehow. "All the things you are," by Charlie Parker. The Bird himself.

It was the middle of Charlie's solo, where he slid up from an E to a G#, which was a repurposing of the head of the song that happened to fit one of the transitions between two of the 47 different reharmonized chords.

This music wasn't really meant to be understood. Eric knew that.

But the Bird had been a genius, and an inspiration to many young musicians everywhere.

His chromaticism was constantly perfect.

He never missed a chord change, since he arranged all of his own music.

He was lightning fast, too. Even faster than John Coltrane, who would come after him. He was fast enough to play thirty-second notes at 160 beats per minute.

Eric always tried to put a little bit of that sort of style into his piano playing. Did it always go the way he planned? No. Eric wasn't perfect.

But the person laying next to him was, as she opened her beautiful eyes.

"Eric. Turn that down, please. Either let me cuddle you or make me get up."

Violet was very drowsy, and still smiling, as always.

Eric wasn't going to deny her his cuddles.

So he turned the Bird down, just the littlest bit. He then laid down next to his better half, and held her close. If the Bird was the word, then Violet was a whole paragraph.

Violet felt his arms around her, and was content.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Kaori. After all, it was 5:00 PM.

Eric freaked out.

His eyes widened, and inside his head, there was a whisper.

" _The world."_

The world around Eric turned purplish-gray, and then went back into full color. But one thing was different.

Time was still.

Eric didn't waste any time. He grabbed Violet, and put her in his closet.

And not with another moment to spare did time start again.

Six seconds. That's all that he had.

Violet was confused. She had been on the bed next to Eric a second ago, and now she was in the dark of his...closet?

Eric answered the door, after getting up.

He opened it himself.

"Hey. What's up. It's only five."

He tried his best not to be anxious or hurry the conversation.

Kaori responded, puzzled.

"We usually have dinner this time of day. Don't you?"

Eric shook his head. "Typically, we have dinner around 6:30 to 7:00 PM. Tonight's dinner is relatively light. Chicken salad."

Kaori blinked a few times, culture shocked.

"Okay. We'll find some way to occupy ourselves until then. How rocky is your beach?"

He pondered the question shortly, before answering.

"The sand is very, very soft. Your feet will have no problems with our beach, trust me."

Kaori seemed satisfied with that answer.

"I think Kousei and I will be going swimming, if you and Violet want to join us, wherever she is. I haven't really seen her around."

"I'll ask her, then. See you out there."

He hurriedly closed the door.

Violet was still confused.

"What did you do? Just then, I was on your bed next to you. Next thing I know, I'm in your closet, in the dark figuratively and literally. Explain."

Eric cowered. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know what happened?"

She just raised an eyebrow.

Eric sighed before answering; "I think I stopped time."

The room was silent, aside from the quiet 40's music.

Violet let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"That's just like how I found out about that teleporting thing I can apparently do. I needed out of a situation, and it just happened. The same thing just happened with you."

Eric nodded, and looked down.

Violet shivered as she felt something.

Something close was whispering a vulgar wind through her body and soul.

It felt rotten and grotesque. "Ugh. What is that?"

Eric looked up, but it wasn't his eyes in his sockets.

Pure black filled his eyes.

"You two should have never gotten a chance to unlock those abilities. You don't deserve them."

The rotten wind turned into an intense aura of force.

"I almost have control of him. What will you do then? I am Death. And you cannot stop me. In fact, forget everything you just heard. I want this to be a surprise."

Death closed his eyes. And the rotten wind was sucked back into Eric's body.

Eric's body collapsed, and Violet shivered.

What had they been talking about?

She had forgotten, and even as she too pitched over in exhaustion, she still didn't even remember a glimpse of what was to come.

Outside, Kousei and Kaori were enjoying themselves in the water, which was warm and lazy in the low tide.

There were 47 hours left before the beginning of the end.

And yet no one knew, so everyone went about their lives as normal. Or at least as normal as a vacation could be. The two lovebirds waded in and out of the water as they pleased, holding hands and trying to avoid the larger waves. Kaori had her purse over her shoulder, trying to keep it dry.

Eric had been right. The sand was kind to their feet.

They had nothing to say to each other.

If only life could always be this simple.

Their feelings flowed freely between their bond as they always did when they were awake and together.

Kousei was content to be with her.

Kaori was content to be with him.

Their lives seemed to finally be coming together.

They could never have known the tragedy that would visit them.

So they pushed onward, toward the late afternoon sun.

Violet woke up at 7:00 PM.

She had one heck of a headache, and she was grumpy.

Reaching out toward Eric, she grasped his hand in hers, and the pain was immediately soothed.

Eric woke up to Violet holding his hand.

His mouth tasted horrible.

He looked at his partner.

"Hey. What's up?" Eric's own headache was quickly going away.

"I had a headache when I woke up a few minutes ago. Speaking of time," she said, looking at her phone, "It looks around time for dinner."

As she looked at her phone, a notification popped up.

" _Kousei and I are eating out tonight. Have fun without us."_

Violet typed back in; "Okay. Have fun, you two!"

She handed her phone to her other half at his prompting.

"Here you go."

He read through the short conversation, and then nodded.

"How long do we have until mom and dad get back?" His eyes turned predatory.

Violet could tell that things were about to get romantic in a big way.

So she thought fast. "Hey. If your mind is going where mine is right now, we should go freshen up first. Make the experience more enjoyable. I sure wouldn't want to kiss me right now."

He nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't want you to kiss me right now, either. The dry mouth is real."

By the time they were done in the bathroom, the two were practically basking in their own heated tension. Violet felt like even the touch of his hands would do right now, and nothing more would be necessary.

Even the slightest touch.

So when they got back to Eric's room and she was told to lay down on her back, she was practically shaking with excitement.

He leaned down to her, and their lips met.

The excess energy their bodies were giving off was nearly invisible, but slightly grey.

It would have looked faintly like they were on fire, to the unaware outsider.

Hands roamed and passions were high.

They somehow stayed in control of themselves.

It was 8:00 PM by the time they were done.

43 and a half hours remained.

Eric's eyes were now slowly starting to get darker, and his skin was starting to get paler. But no one noticed. Not even Violet, who had just spent an hour raking her eyes over his slender physique.

He was slowly losing control of himself. He just didn't know it yet.

As Violet made dinner, Eric laid on the couch in the living room. He was too exhausted to want to move. He was quickly falling asleep.

He fell into the inky darkness of his own dreamscape, and he felt something tug within him.

The landscape was dark and dusty, filled to the brim with the dirt-brown souls of the demented and lost. Eric stood helpless across from a dark figure, who sat on a three legged stool that was made of an Ebony-colored wood.

The outline of a man tilted what would have been its head upwards.

It spoke, and Eric buckled under the pressure created by its voice.

"It's time to break you."

The being was in front of him before he could even move, and slammed a fist right through Eric's chest. It pulled its arm back, pulling two threads back with him. One was a light seafoam green, which gave off light bubbles, and the other had a golden, metallic sheen, which gave off sparks of light.

They were intertwined together, but the being started to pull them apart, untwisting their entire connection and bond.

Eric shook with pain, paralyzed by the being's aura. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

All at once, the two threads disconnected, aside from one tiny piece. It was nearly invisible to the naked eye, and had the shimmer of a diamond. It didn't even budge slightly when the being tried to break it.

It simply didn't move.

Death lost his focus on controlling the dream.

The pan Violet had been holding jerked out of her hand as she flinched at the pain in her chest.

All that she felt was her own heartbeat.

His was no longer present. Or at least, mostly gone.

Instead of feeling like a full chord of emotion, it felt like there was one string just barely vibrating between them.

She didn't know what he was thinking anymore.

It was all gone.

Violet's own pain made her buckle, but even through that pain, she was able to move herself towards Eric.

She grabbed his hand, and his eyes opened slightly.

"Violet? What's-" he was cut off as the pain slammed him in the chest all at once.

"You're okay, don't speak. I'm gonna get you to bed, and then help you feel better the best I can."

Her face was taut in a grimace.

She helped him stand, and they hobbled upstairs.

Kaori and Kousei walked back down the beach. It was 10:00 PM. They were a little late getting back, but they were fine. They were certain their hosts wouldn't mind.

They were entirely serene, and entirely stuffed.

That buffet had been totally worth it, in Kousei's eyes.

"That fried chicken was so good. I feel like I'm gonna pass out, I'm so full." He was indeed tired, barely putting one foot in front of the next. Kaori was slightly more graceful, but only slightly.

When they made it inside the back door, they both knew that something was wrong.

There was a pan with food in it on the floor. They both knew that Violet was very tidy, and would never let something like that fly.

The twins were trying to shower each other, but the two were getting more fatigued as the time unconnected elapsed.

They both sat cross-legged on the shower floor.

Eric was the one to break the silence, the water crashing down on his back.

"Our bond is almost gone. And I think I know why."

A noise outside the bathroom door made both of them flinch.

Violet called out; "Who's there?"

The culprit responded quickly.

"It's Kaori, and I think the two of you need to talk to us about something. Or a few things, considering that you're in the shower together."

Eric went even paler, if it was possible. Violet just sat there, shell-shocked.

Her eye's expression shifted to determined as she called out again; "Okay. We'll be out soon. Please go downstairs for the time being."

And just like that, both of twins saw a part of them fall apart.

 _Those pretty brown eyes_

 _Changed to grey in a season_

 _Because of how much time nothing buys._

 _His turn darker as he grows paler_

 _And strays further into the dark;_

 _And further from reason._

 _Two beings one in the same will find_

 _The means to an end to fight_

 _The evil growing within._

 _Nothing will always win_

 _Time will always be reset and changed_

 _All will end with the death of a twin._


	23. Future Intervention

Chapter 23: Future Intervention

The shower shut off. The music that had been passing between their souls had nearly been silenced, and as they were recovering from the pain, they were discovered.

Violet was shaken up. She looked at Eric with fear in her eyes, who pulled her close with a soft reassurance.

"It'll be okay. I know it will be."

They put on their towels, and went to their rooms to get dressed.

They were both afraid. They were also braver than they knew.

They met at the top of the stairs after getting dressed.

They were both very worried and very unprepared for this conversation in particular.

Standing at the top of the stairs, Eric muttered to Violet; "If worst comes to worst, we tell them everything."

Violet just nodded.

They started down the stairs.

Kaori and Kousei both looked up as the twins came down the stairs. They both looked worried. Since this was what she had expected, Kaori spoke up.

"Come on in. Don't be so tense. Kousei and I have something to show you. I think you'll be surprised."

As Eric and Violet sat down, they saw the other couple look at each other.

Their chests both pulsed with light, and a cord connecting them became visible.

Violet fell out of her seat. She was shaking.

Her incredulous look at Eric was genuine. His face mirrored her own.

As suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared.

Kaori spoke again.

"We know you two are like us, and we support you. Angels are meant to be together, right?"

Kousei spoke up as well, quirking a small smile.

"So who would we be to judge you?"

Violet got up off the floor. She had several questions.

"So… you two are angels."

Kousei grimaced slightly.

"No. Not yet. Give us about 80 years and then maybe. But Angels almost always have to be dead. Almost, but those are rare cases."

Violet asked another question.

"This is a long shot, but have you ever met another angel? And what was his or her name?"

Kaori and Kousei shared a knowing smile.

Kousei answered.

"Yes. We met an angel named Markus. He was… intense. He saved the both of us."

Violet flinched and looked up at the same time as Eric.

Eric spoke before Violet could.

"Markus… was the name of the man that saved you on the beach."

Violet's head snapped around to look at Eric.

"Then… we've met him before too?"

Kousei quirked an eyebrow this time; "It certainly seems so."

The silence between the four of them started with a discontented sigh from Eric.

Everything was so complicated.

Finally, after several minutes, Kousei brought up an important point.

"Can the two of you do anything supernatural or superhuman?"

Violet was the first to snap her head up.

"Yes. Can the two of you?"

Kousei nodded.

"We create illusions when we perform music."

Eric looked perplexed. "What do you mean by illusions?" His expression seemed uncertain and curious at the same time.

Kousei answered quickly; "We'll show you two tomorrow. Her and I are still a little weak from traveling. Haven't really gotten used to the time difference, too."

The twins nodded, before one of them spoke.

"Would you like to know what we can do?" Violet seemed only a little uncomfortable asking this question.

The other couple was intrigued by their willingness to share the nature of their abilities. But Kaori wasn't going to say no.

"Yes. What is it that you can do?"

"I can stop time." Eric said.

Kousei's eyes widened.

Kaori blinked a few times.

Violet's expression turned into a smile.

"And I can teleport. Our abilities seem a little more overpowered than yours."

Kaori pouted. "No fair. You two could potentially avoid any disaster with those abilities."

The twins looked at each other. That was true, and they'd never thought of that before.

They all had a lot to talk about. But that would have to wait for another time.

Eric clutched at his chest, as the color started to drain from him.

"A-Ah…"

Eric sputtered in pain.

Violet looked over at him, concerned. "Eric?"

She got no answer as he fell forward.

She launched herself off of the chair she was on, and she disappeared.

Only to reappear right underneath him. He didn't even hit the ground.

She caught him in her arms. He was out like a light.

It was 11:00 PM.

40 hours and thirty minutes remain.

And Eric Davidson was losing the battle for control as his body weakened.

Something was wrong with him. But Violet didn't know what.

He had a pulse.

He still had an adequate temperature to sustain him.

She put him down.

"What do you two think is wrong with him," Violet asked the other couple, who were currently crowded around Eric with her.

Rather suddenly, Kaori's own eyes flashed grey, and she flinched and screamed.

"Ah!"

She clutched at her eyes.

Kousei had his arms around her in a second.

"What's wrong?"

She pushed him away, pointing at Eric.

"The aura of Death is so strong around him that when I turned on my spiritual sight, I couldn't see. The darkness was emanating from his very soul."

Violet squinted.

"What does that mean?"

Kaori said "I don't know. I have no way of knowing what that means."

Violet slumped. She couldn't help him. She was so frustrated.

She tugged at her hair, and then caught herself doing it, so she stopped.

"So just bed rest?"

Kousei shrugged, and Kaori nodded.

"He clearly needs rest."

Violet carried him up the stairs herself to his room. There was a clear consensus that now was time for bed, and as Violet settled into her own bed to retire for the evening, she heard the other couple pass her room.

When Violet turned off her light, it was 11:30. 40 hours remained.

Two earrings sat on the table between the two angels.

They were made of silver and dark blue crystal.

"Why them?" The future Markus asked, confused.

The Origin was there in an instant.

"Without them, you'll never be able to defeat him."

The present Markus nodded, after thinking for a few moments. "That sounds about right. But how strong will he really be?"

"Physically? Fodder-level. Spiritually? Possibly even stronger than myself."

Their eyes widened as they looked at the Origin.

They had their work cut out for them.

And there was still something else that future Markus needed to do.

If they found a need, a desire…. he would have to stop them.

As the sun came up in Hawaii, it was 6:30 AM.

33 hours remained.

By the time the twins came down the steps, the other couple had their coffee already.

Violet wrinkled her face. "You two drink that?"

Kousei nodded. "We work, and it's literally the high point to our days. It may taste like ash in the mouth, but damn is it energizing."

Kaori looked like a car had run over her hair. She ignored everyone around her, in her own little bubble.

They all ate sparingly. Plain oatmeal was served by Violet to everyone. Everyone got one blueberry each, aside from Eric; he got two.

He smirked as he got his bowl.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "One for you, and one for your heart."

Kaori watched this interaction with an odd amount of interest. Their bond was oddly weak for such a happy couple.

" _Why is there only one strand connecting them?"_ She thought, her eyes turning back from the angelic grey to dark blue.

Kaori voiced her concerns. "Why is your connection so weak? It should be stronger, if you two love each other."

The twins looked at each other. Eric sighed, and started speaking.

By the time Eric was done explaining, the other three were pale, and Violet was shaking, on the verge of a panic attack.

She only barely managed to speak.

"That's what's wrong with you. Death is inside of you. He's trying to take control of you, Eric."

Kousei shivered. The other three looked over at him.

In explanation, he said; "Kaori and I met Death once. It was actually backstage right before the two of you performed. In Denmark. He was able to be there because Danse Macabre was playing. It is not a good thing if he's trying to take control of you. His aura made it hard for Kaori and I to breathe. If he took control of your body, I perish the thought that any of us would survive what you'd become."

"So we're going to die? Death is slowly taking control of him. That's what caused his weakness yesterday afternoon and heart problems last night." Violet was holding Eric's hand now. She was still shaking, afraid for him.

"It is likely. Unfortunately, I don't know of anything that could stop a fourth dimensional entity aside from another fourth dimensional entity. So unless Markus pays us another visit, we're doomed, and should make the most of the time we have left."

Their food had long gotten cold. Not that any of them would have had any appetite left to speak of.

They went their separate ways, Violet getting up after Eric fled the room, teary-eyed.

The other couple decided to go for another walk on the beach, to see what wisdom they could glean from the movements of the sea.

Violet found Eric crying on the piano grande in the basement.

"Go away."

"But Eric…" Violet said tentatively.

"Violet! I'm already putting you in danger! Go away!"

There were clearly some complex emotions at play in Eric's head.

If he wanted mind games, he would get them.

So Violet did the one thing that seemed like it might work.

She forced her way into Eric's head through their connection.

He flinched as she barged in.

And they were suddenly in the world of sky.

Only the two of them and the piano were still there.

"Why did you connect with my mindscape?" Eric was confused and frustrated.

"Love. You were afraid to hurt me, and I wanted you to know that you are loved."

She stepped closer in his mind, and embraced him, their souls entwined in a hug.

And the thread connecting them got just a little bit bigger.

When they disconnected, both of them had tears running down their faces.

They hadn't been hugging in the real world, so they were still in the same positions as they had been when Eric had been yelling.

They flinched collectively. Eric sighed, and he got up off the piano bench.

Their hands found each other, and they made their way up the steps to the living room, Violet leading the way.

Kaori and Kousei walked back from the pier the twins had kissed at. To them it felt like any other pier, aside from one thing. They knew something monumental had taken place there. It was a place that bespoke romance, whispering sweet nothings into the ears of the passerby. Someone had fallen in love there.

They simply walked up and down the beach, blessed by an overcast sky and soft breeze.

The swaying of the palms was the only accompanying sound to the soft tamping of their feet on the sand. They were worried for the other couple. They were worried for themselves. But fate would be as it would be. They wouldn't be able to change it.

What was the use in worrying when the lives they'd led were already spectacular?

If it was their time to die, then so be it.

By the time they got back, they were both slightly sunburned, and it was 12:00.

27 and a half hours remained.

They came in the back patio.

The kitchen hadn't been touched. The oatmeal was still there.

Eric was dozing on the couch, clearly exhausted.

His head was, rather adorably, on Violet's lap. She wasn't tired. Just stressed and concerned.

Not to mention afraid.

She'd been sitting like this for the past two hours, unable to sleep through her worry.

She was so focused on Eric that she didn't even notice Kaori and Kousei until the latter said something.

"Violet. Kaori and I have made dinner plans. We don't expect the two of you to come, but you can if you'd like."

Her eyes were grey when they snapped up.

After taking a moment to ponder the statement and proposition, Violet spoke.

"We'll be staying in this evening. Thank you for the offer, but I need to stay with him, and he needs constant rest."

The pianist nodded. "Then for now we should _all_ try to get some rest. That means you, too, Violet."

Violet looked up again. Her eyes were brown. Now she looked tired, and she nodded.

She gestured with her hand for the other couple to leave, as she began to wake the one she loved.

"Eric, it's time to get up."

He was roused from his sleep instantly as she ruffled his hair.

"Violet… how long have you been awake, while I rested?"

Violet put a little piece of hair back behind her ear.

"The whole time. But it's okay. I only woke you up so that we could go to bed, anyway."

He frowned. "Now why did you insist on staying awake while I slept? You could have woken me sooner, Vi. Why suffer for my sake?"

"Someone has to." She pulled him in for a kiss, even though his breath was terrible.

She didn't care. She wanted to kiss him while she still could.

Hold him while he was still alive to hold.

Love while he could still love back.

So when she helped him get up, she bore his weight over her own shoulders.

When she helped him hobble down the hall, she carried his burden. And when he needed carried piggyback up the stairs, she carried him.

She put him down on his bed. She went over and closed the door. She laid down next to him, and started to take her clothes off.

She pulled off her shorts first, revealing the pink-striped underwear she'd put on the night before.

"Violet? What are you doing?" Eric was confused, but wasn't trying to stop her.

She pulled off her shirt. "Doing something before it's too late, Eric."

He took a while to digest this, and by the time he started to blush with understanding, there was a naked Violet next to him.

It was time. He moved.

10

Violet moved off the bed.

9

Eric sat up and put his legs off the side.

8

Violet fumbled with his belt.

7

She got his belt open.

6

Eric chuckled nervously as she winked at him, unbuttoning his pants.

5

She pulled the belt back through itself, undoing it.

4

Their eyes started to glow in anticipation.

3

Violet undid his zipper.

2

He lifted himself up, allowing her to pull his pants down.

1

A gust of wind struck the room. There was an angel standing with his back to them.

As he started to turn around, Eric's eyes flashed, and he shouted;

"THE WORLD!"


	24. The Final Countdown

Chapter 24: The Final Countdown

"THE WORLD."

Eric's shout turned the world around him grey in an instant.

He observed his surroundings.

There was a stranger in his room. An angelic stranger.

Even if it was an angel, wings, halo and all, Violet was still naked, and he wrapped their blanket around her.

And as he turned around to face the angel, time was moving again.

He was able to take one step towards the angel, before he was on the ground, breathless.

"Stand down, child. I'm not here to harm you, or your partner."

The angel said this as he turned around. It was Markus. But not quite. He was older, and grizzled.

One of his wings was missing a few feathers, and the halo around his head wasn't as bright as the Markus they knew.

But Violet recognized him anyway.

"You're Markus."

He smiled the same old crooked smile. "Yes, Violet. That's me. But I'm obviously not the Markus you remember."

He received no response, and continued.

"I am here from the future, Violet."

He turned to her.

"In my future, you two had sex tonight. And then when you tried to keep the baby, you died in childbirth. My Origin sent me back in time to save at least one version of reality from that pain."

Violet shivered at the thought and images, before asking a question.

"What's the Origin?"

Markus looked confused for a moment, before answering.

"You've met god already, right?"

Violet nodded, and Markus continued.

"Well he prefers to be called the Origin."

"Okay. The more you know, I guess?"

Violet was a little confused by the name, but at least it wasn't something dumb.

Eric joined the conversation.

"Do you have anything else to tell us? Because really we get it, don't have sex."

Markus shook his head.

"It was mostly about stopping this encounter in particular and then informing you of the problem."

Eric then sort of pointed to how Violet was naked, and then Markus had the decency to blush.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I'll be going. And Eric? Good luck."

He left through the open window as quickly as he'd arrived.

They didn't even see him move to leave. He was just gone.

They were grateful that they were alone again.

Violet put her underwear back on.

They quietly got into bed, and found solace in each other.

It was only early evening. 5:00.

But they were both ready for bed.

22 and a half hours remain.

The time was whittling away. Eric was fading in and out of consciousness now.

Violet just laid next to him, playing with his hair, tired. His own weakness was seeping into her.

If only she could just fall asleep…

And as her eyes finally closed, Violet Davidson fell into a fitful sleep.

When their mother found them in Eric's room later that night, she basically forced Violet onto her feet and out of his room.

"If your father sees you two like this, you're dead meat. Get to your own room, and get to bed. It's eleven o'clock already." Their mother looked afraid for her children, and made a shooing motion at Violet.

Violet didn't have to be told twice, scurrying away.

Kaori and Kousei were settled in for a long night. The moonlight seeped into their room.

They were both awake, staring at the ceiling.

All was silent, as the emotions simply flowed through their bond.

Fear.

Desperation.

Morbidity.

Mortality.

Love.

As they fell asleep individually, neither of them knew what the next day had in store.

But they had an idea.

They just didn't like it.

That night, no one dreamt.

The tides rose and fell.

The palm trees swayed in an invisible breeze.

The calm before the storm had arrived.

As the next day dawned, it was 6:00.

Nine and a half hours remained.

And Eric was afraid. He had been in the bathroom, sick and feverish, for the past two hours.

His vomit was black.

Blood clots.

They seemed to all be out, but he was next to unconscious when he was done throwing up. He was too exhausted to move.

He could feel something clawing at the back of his mind.

There was something there. As he stared blankly at the ceiling, he wondered what he ever did to deserve this.

He was laying next to the toilet. His mouth tasted horrible. And the headache that had infiltrated his temples wasn't going away anytime soon.

He thought one thing before he passed out, and stopped holding his part of the bond silent.

" _Fuck this."_

Violet jolted awake as she was hit by shout after shout through her bond.

" _He's fucking dying, you idiot!"_

" _Get up!"_

" _Move!"_

"Ahh!" She said, jumping out of bed, towards him.

She disappeared before she even hit the ground.

It was like she stepped through a portal and was exactly where she needed to be.

He was laid out next to her.

There was blood in his vomit.

Or, at least there had been.

Eric was in her arms instantly, and she heaved him onto her shoulders.

She didn't work out for nothing.

She had him on his bed in seconds.

She checked for respiration, heart movement, blood pressure.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding when all came back positive.

He was breathing.

His heart was pumping.

Oxygen was getting to where it should be.

He would live.

She flickered back to her own room.

Her world started to spin, and she fell.

And with that, Violet collapsed into sleep from the spiritual exhaustion of using her abilities more than once.

Eric lay locked within his own body.

He couldn't move anything. He was trapped in his own mind.

He heard the dripping of rain outside. He reached for his powers. They were like a piece of paper that someone kept pulling away from him.

He pushed with all of his might, grabbing hold of the energies locked within his soul.

He shouted into the confines of his mind;

"THE WORLD!"

Far off, the Origin noticed everything around him stop.

"Curious. I didn't think anyone was in trouble yet."

He extended a spare tendril of thought towards Earth.

He found a terrible situation. Things weren't going according to plan.

He stopped what he was doing, as time started up around him again.

He stepped, and he was next to Eric Davidson's bed.

"Now. What do we have here?"

The frozen form of Eric started to freak out, thinking it was Death.

The Origin chuckled. "Child. I am not Death."

Internally, Eric scrunched his eyebrows up.

"Yes. Really. I'm the Origin. God."

One of Eric's eyebrows actually twitched at that one. On the inside, Eric was constantly trying to activate "THE WORLD." But it wasn't working.

The Origin was amused by Eric's antics and thoughts, but figured it was time to reinstate Eric's control over his own body.

He waved his hand, and Eric could move again.

"This won't work for long. I still have to watch you get taken over. But I will be watching. Don't die, Eric. I have only the greatest of plans for you."

And then he was gone.

Eric had his hand reached out. "Don't...go…ugh."

His hand dropped, and it was time to interpret what the Origin had said.

It was 12:00. Three and a half hours remained.

And even as Eric sat in the chair in the corner of his room, trying not to drift off, the sounds of the Elgar concerto in E minor, op. 85 drifted through his mind.

The soft, steady sounds of the cello soothed his psyche, even as he weakened where he sat.

"All that's left now is for me to let go."

His eyes were slowly turning black. Eric's time was nearly up.

As he pondered when he would lose control, Violet woke up.

What she felt through their bond was terrifying.

Death. Everywhere. In his heart, in his soul.

Their bond was shouting at her again.

She tuned it out as she walked to Eric's room as calmly as she could.

The hardwood underneath her bare feet was smooth.

Her thoughts were not nearly as smooth.

And as she reached the doorway of Eric's room, she heard it.

The music of Eric's soul.

She was hit by the sounds of two cellists.

The melodies they played made her shudder in awe.

He turned to face her, and as her eyes met his, the music grew more intense, underlying violins and violas becoming audible, with screaming, high register chords.

One of his eyes was black.

The longing for her in him changed the song from locrian to aeolian.

The feel shifted instantly.

He was able to stand.

He stumbled over to her, finally coming to a rest, leaning on the doorframe.

He touched her hand, and the music of his soul became less desperate.

It modulated. Over and over again. The mode continually shifted, as well.

It was as if the music was the emotion behind his every thought.

Human thoughts weren't just in major or minor.

They were that and everything in between and outside.

His soul finally calmed when she focused on their bond, and hefted him onto her back.

Piggyback was his least favorite thing about this whole situation.

He spoke.

"Why are you… so kind? How can you lower yourself to carrying me?"

He was crying. He didn't understand how she loved him, even through his weakness.

She felt his tears on her neck, and heard a soft sob in his voice.

She half-smiled, as her own tears started to form.

"I shouldn't have to tell you how. You already know that I love you more than anything, Eric. If you're suffering, I'm going to be right there with you."

There was silence, aside from the soft padding of Violet's feet out onto the patio.

The sun was bright in the sky.

The clouds it was peering through seemed to be dispersing, but it could go either way.

Both of the twin's eyes were red as Violet set her partner down, and went to get an umbrella from the house, to shield his body from the sun.

They were both exhausted and broken. But even as Violet set up the umbrella, they still had love holding them together.

Kaori and Kousei were both sitting on the pier, a ways down the beach.

Kaori had her violin, even though the sea air was bad for it.

The sounds of "The Swan" by Saint-Saens filled the world around them with a soft illusion of peace.

Because in the time they had left before the lightning struck and the storm began, they had to make at least one more happy memory.

If they died, they would die contented.

The color changes in the song were highlighted in the emotions they were made to feel.

When she played the E for the first tone change, the passerby felt lost.

And that feeling remained until the final restatement of the theme.

She lingered on the modulation.

Its soft ending was complete with a down bow.

They were lost, but not everything had to be, so long as they looked beyond themselves.

At the end of the illusion, it was 1:30. Two hours remained.

Violet awoke from the trance-like state of the illusion.

She'd seen herself and Eric, dancing to an inaudible melody.

The eyes she'd seen in the illusion were the normal dark brown.

But his were now almost all black. He was losing control of himself.

She did the only thing she felt she could do.

As they laid facing each other on the warm sand, she caressed the side of his exhausted face.

"I'm afraid, Eric."

Her fears were less intense than they had been earlier. But she wasn't able to block out how weak he was getting.

Eric could barely move his eyes to see.

Much less be able to stand again.

She held his hand, and made sure he was comfortable.

She drifted away, into a sleep that wasn't to end well.

When the air exploded around Eric, launching Violet away several feet, she was greeted with the sight of her love, on his own two feet.

But something was wrong.

His shirt was gone.

His hair was standing upright and pure, jet black.

Two darkly-feathered wings were sprouting from his shoulder blades.

The aura that tightly encased his body was dark grey, and volatile.

He started to turn around, and as the clouds rolled in, Violet got her first glimpse at the true nature of evil.

Through the portal of Eric's eyes, she could see fire and brimstone.

Evil and degeneracy. Brokenness and hatred.

The being that wasn't Eric anymore smirked.

"Hello, mortal child."


	25. Sinister Intent

Chapter 25: Sinister Intent

The sand underneath Violet's feet was shifting, making her stumble where she stood.

The tightly coiling miasma around the possessed Eric's body was making the air around them quake.

Violet tried to take a step back, and Death took a step closer.

Their eyes met. The sinister intent in the possessed Eric's eyes was intense.

"Well. What do we have here? Target practice, or maybe even a warm-up?"

Eric's voice was normal. But the Eric Violet knew wasn't behind it.

She was going to die. She started to cry.

"Eric, no…"

She sobbed in earnest. The man she loved just wasn't there.

But he was.

Eric was trapped within the walls of his own mind.

" **NO! NOT HER, DAMN IT! THE WORLD!"**

He tried in vain to activate his ability. But to no avail. His words fell on no one's ear.

The walls surrounding him constricted, as his own mind forced him to stop trying.

He would damage himself, trying to activate the ability inside himself.

He wasn't able to stop Death. Violet was going to die.

"I'm not Eric. I am Death; your judge, your jury, and your executioner."

His hand moved towards her…

The air above them seemed to split for a microsecond.

The air between them shivered as two figures appeared.

Two streaks slammed into the earth.

The ground cracked.

The two figures split up, jumping at 45 degree angles into the air.

The two angels were revealed in the air, their identities clear as day.

They were two different versions of the same person.

And they struck as one, thrusting their hands forward, creating pressure waves.

Neither were surprised when it did nothing aside from slightly budge the possessed Eric.

The battle quickly escalated, with the darkly angelic Eric shooting forward and slamming both of the others out of the sky.

Both hit the ground with loud thuds.

The younger Markus stood up first, breathing heavily.

They crouched on weakened legs, their tunics scuffed and worn.

They shot forward together, slamming into Death.

It seemed to be effective at first, but they just bounced off of him. They weren't able to do anything.

As Death focused in on them, Violet tried following the explosions of air.

But it didn't work. She couldn't keep up. With every blow, the seaside shook.

She was amazed. And terrified.

"This is really something beyond us, isn't it? Life will never be the same after this."

Back in the fight, the punches and kicks landed well enough, but their effects were minimal.

The two angels were struggling desperately, and through the high-intensity clashes, were being pushed back.

They were losing, and they knew it.

The older Markus figured it was now or never for his trump card.

Kicking Death as hard as he could, sending him flying before turning to the other Markus.

"I need you to hold him off," he said, looking at his younger counterpart, who then cracked his neck before nodding.

"I've got you. Just hurry it up. I can't buy you much time."

The understanding between them was intense.

If this didn't do the job, they'd have to risk merging forever.

The older Markus shot into the sky, arms raised.

"Stars! Cosmos! Grant me your power!"

Immediately, he started to glow, and his aura gradually gained in size.

As Violet looked on in awe, the younger Markus and Death were still fighting fiercely, with the former since having activated his origin state.

She could sort of see them now. But only since they were fighting in one spot, and not moving around quickly.

The young angel's techniques fell in vain on the darkly angelic being.

Their blows created craters and gashes in the beach.

The winds generated by their auras created massive waves.

And the older Markus floated in place, eyes screwed shut in concentration.

His aura was approaching an obscene size.

The people in the surrounding countryside were blinded as the fierce grey aura turned a brilliant gold with a flash.

He started to absorb his aura back into himself, the flames around him becoming more intense.

The light around him continued to brighten.

The air around his aura quickly grew heated and shimmery.

" _I suppose its time, then."_

Suddenly, he was behind Death, raging with a bright and explosive aura.

A palm impacted the small of the possessed boy's back.

Death started to turn around, but he couldn't move in time.

He shouted; "NOOOOOOOO…"

The older looking angel smirked.

" _Endgame Cataclysm."_

With a spark, a mile-wide wave of raw golden energy erupted from the older Markus's hand, firing towards the sky.

Death was launched into the upper atmosphere, Eric's body starting to flake away faster than Death could regenerate it.

Violet's face was one of fear. What would happen if his body never came back down?

But it wasn't over.

As the blast stopped and dissipated, the air around them increased in pressure.

They all buckled; even Violet, who was much further away.

Both of them felt that he hadn't been finished off. Death had too much power to be defeated while inside a mortal vessel.

A four-dimensional being inside a three-dimensional body meant near infinite three-dimensional power.

At this rate, they would run out of energy before they could fuse.

"How are we supposed to get an opening large enough to merge if we're this weak?"

The younger angel despaired.

They were already losing.

The possessed boy ominously floated above, giving them the chance to get thinking.

But before either of them had had time to start thinking of a counterattack, Death was behind them.

He smiled at their little attempts at defeating him.

"Go on. Do your fusion. It's futile, and it will not be enough to stop me."

His smirk was intolerable.

The older Markus was the first to spin around, his reflexes guiding him. The younger followed suit shortly after.

One nodded at the other, and the younger Markus pulled something out of his tunic.

The younger Markus was holding something in his right hand, that he slowly raised to his left ear.

The clinking of crystal on metal was heard by Violet.

The two of them glowed light blue, before they were drawn together.

They merged, like two tributaries flowing into one another.

There was a flash of light, and then the essence of glory appeared.

Markus.

Not future or past. This was Markus at his absolute maximum and then some.

The true Emissary of Disaster.

His eyes were fierce and hateful, the shimmer inside them proof of his completion.

His tousled hair was upright and grey.

The origin state.

While Violet had no clue what had just happened, she knew it was important by the energy this being was letting off.

She knew this Angel was Markus. But which one?

There was an odd feeling about him.

It felt like Bach's first cello prelude.

Assuring and calming.

He felt like majesty.

He felt like hope.

Everything about him spoke and whispered in major keys.

The world parted for him, as if awaiting his very command.

Death smirked.

"That still won't be enough to beat me. If the Origin could harm me, don't you think he would have by now?"

The angel didn't even falter as he ascended into the sky. His countenance was unshakable.

The soft whoosh of air under his wings spread out the feathers, getting them ready for high-speed movement.

He was going to lose, but he knew that he was playing an important part.

The two that comprised him had been resolute and in agreeance on one thing.

" _Weaken him enough for Violet to separate Eric from Death."_

If Violet was to be honest with herself, as she watched from the ground, there were a lot of things wrong with the situation at hand.

But she knew somehow that everything would be okay.

The ways that life worked didn't feel corrupted.

So she knew that in the end, life would continue.

This wasn't Armageddon.

This was just another beginning.

This battle was another goodnight that they might not wake up from.

This battle was Eric's ultimate test.

This battle was the absolute endgame.

It either all ended or all started here.

There was a gust of wind next to Violet as the Origin appeared next to her, as she laid on the ground, stunned into shock.

"You need to get up. You play an important part in all of this. I can help you, but if he is to survive, you need to want him to survive."

He turned his back on her, and began to step away.

" _It's going to be okay. Just reach out!"_

Her hand flinched; a small movement.

If anyone had seen them in that moment, they would have seen Violet's eyes widen in pain.

And the smallest movement from her body wasn't a small movement on the spiritual level.

Her soul had extended itself far away enough from her body to grab the Origin, in its desperation.

" _I can't move, you've gotta understand."_

He smiled in a small way. _"That's okay. I'll carry your burdens. That just now was enough to convince me that you want him to survive. That you love him enough to tear your own soul to connect with me is incredible. You must be in a lot of pain."_

She nodded her head slightly, as the air above them turned into millions of small clashes and thunderclaps.

She was in incredible pain. It was like she was being stabbed with a hot knife, and that pain was sparking through every other nerve on that side of her body.

She was down for the count, now.

But two things still hadn't changed, after everything.

She was still afraid for Eric, and was still trapped within the shells of her own potential.

Both of those things would soon change.

 _Life will always move, if you desire to stay._

 _Time will always shove you aside, if you seek to live in the past._

 _Death will always find you, if you hide from him._

 _The ways that we move in life keep us alive._

 _For those of us that flow with the movements of time, we find infinite futures_

 _Sprawled out for us to find._

 _And for those of us that greet Death with a smile, I hope that you're smiling because_

 _You have no regrets_

 _And because you didn't need a reason to love._

 _When we leave things behind, the burdens drop off of our shoulders._

 _When time helps heal our wounds, we grow stronger._

 _And when we greet Death having loved everyone, we can truly say that we lived._

What happens to Violet?

Find out NEXT TIME ON _Scars in the Mirror!_


	26. The Sparking Vision

Chapter 26: The Sparking Vision

Violet had been on the ground, soul torn and body wracked with pain.

Until the Origin leaned down and whispered in her ear, and with a crack unheard by everyone, she was on her feet.

"Okay. He's ready to be separated, then?"

She shifted her newly sprouted wings, and cocked her head toward Eric's possessed body.

And she flickered into his mind, as she remembered what had happened.

" _Soul connections can allow for mental teleportation, in individuals with enough willpower. You can put yourself inside his mind, and save him. You can do it once I grant you this favor."_

The Origin had flashed seafoam green for a moment as he synced with her soul.

And Violet had ascended for the first time.

The meadow-grass was soft under Eric's feet.

The knoll he was standing on was constantly shifting, changing form. One moment it was a beach, the next a meadow, next a rock in the middle of the sea.

The sand under his feet changed to a base of rough rock, knocking him over.

As Eric rubbed his left arm, which he'd landed on, he thought out loud.

''Where am I?"

His voice echoed.

A soft wind wrapped around him.

It spoke to him.

"We're inside your mind."

And like that, a young woman stood before him.

Well, more so a blank slate of a young woman.

Her face was plain. Not in the sense that she was average looking, but in the sense that she had no face.

There was a pull from inside his heart.

" _Who are you?"_

She pulled close to him and whispered: "If you don't already know who I am, who do you want me to be?"

And a pang ripped through his chest.

Flashes of memory ran through his vision.

His whole life passed before him quickly, before slowing down.

The flashes were filled with memories of one person, then.

A young woman with soft black hair.

Her blood in the water.

A coral reef.

Brown eyes, as kind and magnificent as life itself.

A tornado of fire of every shade and hue...

And as he felt his lips on hers, a name made itself known in his mind.

 _Violet._

And as Violet's face replaced the blank slate, she smiled.

"Good. You passed. Now I can tell you why I'm here."

Eric, on his knees, started to get up.

"Please do."

As they stood apart, Violet spoke.

"Well. I'm here to force death out of your mind. You see," she said, as she sprouted wings, "I don't stay down long, and the Origin can be awfully helpful."

Her eyes were grey when they met his again.

"So I've been projected into here to help you. But I'll be out of commission after you regain control. I can feel the drain even now. My body wasn't ready for this much power."

She shook slightly, nearly buckling.

Eric flinched, as Violet reached out to him.

"Quickly! We have to overpower your mind's barriers to reach Death and his influence."

He reached out to her outstretched hand.

And all the seriousness faded away.

It was the two of them, reconnected.

Their love exploded, coloring the sea around them in the colors of a vibrant sunset.

They heard a voice resonate around them.

And then there was nothing. Blackness.

Death had lost control, and was being forced out.

A string reconnected him to his mind and body.

And as he regained control, flashes of white crossed across his vision.

And when he came to...

He was falling.

The sky was passing him by.

And as a spark inside of Eric burst into existence, he knew that Violet probably wasn't going to survive the fall, either.

And as Eric hit the ground, two things happened.

Markus de-fused.

And a dark globule of light started to expand into a humanoid form.

"Ah. Such power…"

And as Eric laid there, body broken and exhausted, something occurred to him.

"Violet's hurt. She's about to die. And here I am. Unable to protect her."

The Origin was next to him, then, peering down at him.

"Correct. You can't do anything. But since you've proven yourself loving already, I'll give you a favor. Promise me that when the time comes... that you'll accept the greatest burden of all. Promise me that, and I'll unlock enough of your latent potential to save her. You're ready."

Eric, without a second thought, said the only thing a desperate man would say.

" **YES**!"

The Origin flinched.

"Okay then. Yes it is," he said, pressing thumbs into Eric's sternum and forehead.

Eric reignited.

His eyes were furious as they changed from brown to grey.

A flash of light swam across Eric's vision.

Everything that he wanted to protect.

Not a desire.

A need.

He needed to save her.

" **Without Violet, I might as well be dead!** "

His shout echoed across the world, as the spark turned into a raging golden aura around him.

A burst of wind was released by his very soul, and in that moment, all of Hawaii could feel their protector's heart. His spirit.

Valiance.

Bravery.

Fearlessness.

He felt light-headed, and as his muscles expanded and wings sprouted, a halo formed around his head.

The young man had accepted the ultimate burden, and his potential was on display for all to see.

Next time on Scars in the Mirror:

 _Eric: Reignited!_

 _Author's notes:_

 _Okay, okay. Put down the pitchforks and torches. I knoooow it's been awhile. I know. Life has just been hectic. I hope everyone that read it enjoyed it._

For anyone that wants to know, this fanfic WILL be done by the end of November.

No later.


	27. The Death of a Flower

Chapter 27: The Death of a Flower

Kaori watched from the back patio of the Davidson's house.

They had strategically retreated several minutes prior, at Kousei's recommendation. And by recommendation, I mean that Kaori was grabbed and lifted bodily over Kousei's shoulder as he ran away.

Kousei had scrambled away as fast as possible, the bond yelling at him that Kaori was in danger.

Like he didn't know that already.

"Nope. Fuck this. Nope _nope_ _nope_ _**nope**_."

He had whispered into the wind as he ran away from the thunderclaps and shaking beach.

The tiny figures in the sky clashed one last time, shaking the air and cracking the clouds in two.

And as soon as the fighting had started, it stopped.

Pure Markus defused with a light blue glare and a *zup* sound.

The two angels remained in the sky as Eric fell, and Violet appeared in a flash.

And then the two mortals started to fall.

And as two beings hit the ground, a dark spot appeared in the sky.

And after a flash of light, a new beacon of hope appeared. The couple held hands as they bore witness to armageddon.

It was the end, almost for sure. If two angels together couldn't do it, Kousei was sure as anything as he held Kaori's hand in his own that it was time to die.

Their bond was warm, but the cold reality of Death chilled them to the bone.

It was time to see which side was more desperate to win.

Eric, with his love for Violet. His valiance and bravery was bright gold against the afternoon sky.

And Death, with his desire for power.

A dark miasma surrounded him, striking terror into the hearts of the musically inclined couple.

The battle had just begun.

The sand was no longer shifting and moving around.

Violet lay on the ground thirty feet away from Eric.

Her legs and back had taken the majority of the impact, it seemed, as the bones of her legs had broken and pierced her skin.

She was writhing in pain, but still conscious. As Eric shook with power, barely in control, she whispered;

"Go get him, hon. I'll survive, and I'm not going anywhere." Her smile was sad, as she chuckled at her own dark humor.

The dark figure in the air was simple and humanoid, and exactly how Eric remembered him from his dream.

A twisted image when compared to the Origin, but still awe-inspiring, in an odd way.

Eric settled into a comfortable stance, as his body prepared for a movement that he hadn't even thought about yet.

Death shouted down at him as he descended through the air; " _Prepare yourself, child."_

And with a slight movement, Death was in front of Eric, whose eyes widened as his body moved faster than it had ever before.

He ducked under the fist that was heading for his throat, and he shouted two words in defiance; " **THE WORLD!"**

The landscape around them turned purple, and flashed in between grayscale and normal color.

In the six seconds that he had in the frozen time, Eric jumped above Death after dashing to the side.

Grabbing Death's leg, which was out-stretched behind him, Eric threw him down, Death's body breaking the sound barrier as time started to move again.

The shoreline shook as Death hit the ground.

Hard, cracking the solid ground underneath the bright sand.

The newly ascended Eric cracked his knuckles mid-air, as his opponent started to stand up.

He was going to test something.

" _I need to figure out the extent of my strength, and fast."_ Eric knew that if he wasn't able to use 100% of everything available to him, it would all be over soon enough.

He steadied himself for the technique that he had seen countless times in his dreams.

"What's that? Prepare myself MY ASS!"

Thrusting his arm forward as fast as his newly strengthened body would let him, Death was forced into the ground by the pressure wave.

And this time, he let Death get up: shaking and clearly rattled, it was easy to see that Death was annoyed.

"Shall we fight fairly, then? Are _you_ prepared now?" Eric taunted ever so cautiously.

Death turned and floated up to greet Eric. Cracking his neck, he spoke in the affirmative:

"I suppose that you would want a fair fight. For now, I'll grant you that. For now."

The two slowly increased their powers, their auras becoming more intense by the second.

Eric's golden aura filled with grey flecks as it grew, filling the air with heat.

Death's aura did the opposite, getting smaller and comparably more intense. His miasma granted the air a sort of spiritual chill.

They settled into their preferred stances.

Eric's own style was mostly modeled after wing-chun, being mostly about flowing about and focusing on nothing but the opponent.

His weight was forward, readying himself for the first blow.

Death was mostly just an opportunist.

And it showed as he took the first blood, slamming Eric across the face.

He skidded on air for a few seconds, head tilted to the side.

His lip was bleeding when he turned around.

"That all you've got?"

Death was sufficiently goaded.

They moved at the same time, each catching the other's fists, slamming their heads together in an impressive show of force, shaking the Earth.

Several miles away, at a naval base, equipment was picking up 8.2 level earthquakes.

A new recruit was shaking in his chair, at his desk monitoring the equipment.

"If these keep going on, Hawaii will be destroyed…"

The two broke the deadlock mutually, pulling away.

Death was considerably more damaged.

But Eric was starting to feel the fatigue of this new form.

" _Damn,"_ he thought, holding his side, " _my body probably can't keep this going forever."_

He looked at the destruction occurring on the ground. Violet was safe, but the skyscrapers more inland were collapsing.

Concerned, Eric asked to move the fight;

"We shouldn't do this here. Let's move higher into the sky."

The wind blew in the space between them, ruining what would have been a perfect silence.

Death grumbled after a few seconds; "Fine."

Unceremoniously, Eric started upward, despite barely even understanding how his flight was even happening. It just was. And he willed himself upwards.

They both flew up a good mile or two.

Coming to a stop when they were about a meter apart, they each breathed in, and then out.

Eric knew one thing in that moment; " **Duck!"**

And as they started to throw punches faster than the eye could see, the thunderclaps started again in earnest.

They were slowly falling towards the Earth.

Eric ducked and caught Death's arm, pulling past him and catching him in an armbar. Death disappeared, melting out of the hold.

"You'll have to do better than that"

Eric heard this behind him, and as he turned around, was caught across the jaw.

As in, Death literally grabbed his face.

And Death took his moment of confusion to place a palm against Eric's stomach.

"Begone, child."

"Oh fu-"

And with that, a grey torrent of energy engulfed Eric, obscuring his entire body from view.

This kept up for around five seconds, before revealing a slightly battered Eric.

"Damn that smarts!"

Eric yelled this as he shoved a foot into Death's midsection.

The fatigue had only grown through the blast, and Eric was forcing himself to continue moving, following through with the kick.

Death was sent flying to the right.

Eric figured it was time to stop fighting fair.

The fatigue inside of his body was growing more and more oppressive, and it was now or never.

" _The World,"_ he whispered.

Time froze, as he flew back towards his opponent.

Flying underneath Death, he slammed his opponent upwards with a vicious sidekick angled straight up.

Time started to flow again as he moved upwards with the frozen body.

He dodged Death's initial attack easily enough, grabbing his arm and throwing him downward as hard as possible.

And Death was moving _fast_ towards the ground.

So when he hit it with a *thwack* he made quite the crater.

But now Death had both of the twins right where he wanted them.

Death was less than 100 feet from Violet. Eric was two miles up and couldn't see what was going on.

Eric was confused when the bond started shouting at him.

"But isn't Violet safe on the… ground."

His eyes widened with fear.

" **THE WORLD!"**

He shouted this loud enough to produce a tremendous shockwave. His desperation was in vain.

He was already right next to Violet when Eric stopped time, unbeknownst to Eric, arm upraised and covered in a sickly grey aura.

Violet cowered, pale and terrified.

Her face was frozen in a frightened grimace, eyes shut, teeth gritted.

Prepared for the end.

And even though Eric was fast enough to reach them in six seconds, his eyesight wasn't good enough to see exactly where they were.

But that didn't matter anymore.

He had to be right.

Several seconds had already elapsed.

And as he thrust himself at mach three towards the ground, he screamed in desperation.

" **VIOLET!"**

He was above them by about 300 feet when time resumed its flow.

And he felt Violet's heart when it was shredded beyond repair.

She died on the ground, killed without a second thought.

Violet's last thought wasn't of Eric.

It wasn't of her amazing life.

Or of music.

She died in fear.

Consumed by it.

Violet's death mask was one of shrieking fear.

And as Eric kicked up sand hitting the ground, he had already started to break.

"How... _ **dare**_...you…"

His back was to Death, who had since retracted his hand from Violet's chest. All the blood had drained from his face.

The tears welling in his eyes were real.

The corpse of the woman he loved was real.

Eric's _**anger**_ was real.

And it was surging inside of his very soul.

The inner shells inside of him were starting to break down from the sheer emotion.

His body was responding to a need.

His desire to murder was _secondary_.

The need to kill was running amok in his heart and mind.

This wasn't a desire. This _was_ a need.

And despite all the anger, it was affecting him.

It… Was being drawn away, into nothingness.

The aura around Eric shifted in color.

The brilliant gold was slowing being consumed by a light grey.

Death watched with curiosity.

" _Perhaps he'll be a challenge now."_

Oh, if he only knew.

The anger inside Eric was going somewhere else.

Retreating somewhere deeper. The weakness of emotion was being replaced with the strength of knowing and feeling nothing.

And even when the anger went away and Eric started to change, the emotion had still played its part.

Eric's soul was a whirlpool. Consuming weakness, and surging constantly with force.

The plug pulled away from the bottom was Violet.

The bond finally broke, and Eric started to ascend in earnest.

Her soul had moved on.

As his hair turned grey and his pupils dilated and glowed, he turned towards Death.

His aura grew as he took the first step towards the beginning of a new confrontation.

He grew in height and in muscle mass as the ascension was finishing up.

His eyes glinted and within the span of an instant, his body had done the thinking for him.

A palm strike to the lower abdomen.

A snap kick with his left leg to the upper right arm.

A final back kick to the front of the torso.

And Death was suddenly flying backwards.

Eric looked down at Violet as his foe crashed into the ground 200 feet away.

His face scrunched into a brittle grimace.

And like a whirlpool, the anger was continually sapped away.

" _I can't feel any anger. But I can at least put this_ _ **vermin**_ _down now."_

Death got up quickly, and throwing his arm out, ripped a rift into the air.

Dark and looming, it started growing before stabilizing into a spherical grey mass about twenty feet across.

The Void of Sin.

It followed Death as he moved forwards. It was almost sentient.

Death respected the sanctity of the dead for a moment, as Eric gathered Violet in his arms, and flew her back home.

Eric appeared essentially out of nowhere for the couple of Kousei and Kaori.

A tall, broad angel with tear-stricken eyes.

He carried the love of his life.

Violet was dead.

And before either of them could process any of this, she had been laid at their feet.

"Watch after her...body."

He grimaced and turned away, before whispering something.

And he was gone, "THE WORLD" echoing quietly into the nothingness of frozen spacetime.

As an angel, Eric had only one goal. Protect Violet. And he'd failed.

Failed.

So his soul had responded.

Vengeance.

He would avenge Violet, no matter the cost.

In the frozen time, Eric noted that six seconds had already passed.

He reached Death after a rather leisurely seven second flight.

Leisurely, because his greater limits had been broken.

He wasn't trying anymore.

And with the flank of Death exposed in front of him, his body just...moved.

The grimness in his eyes didn't matter anymore. She was gone, and his body was moving for him now.

Eric was on autopilot, now.

The Origin state itself was fueling his instinctual movements.

Death was kneed in the neck twice, once on the right, and another time on the left as Eric circled around the back, pivoting without thinking.

The thuds echoed around the seaside, and if there would have been bystanders, they would have said that Eric was unequivocally the stronger player in this game.

And like that, Death was on his back, arms weakly supporting his frame. He smirked.

"Do you really believe this is all I have?"

He started to wrap his body in the Void of Sin.

" _ **The End: Crow."**_

And with that being said, Eric's body reacted.

Death was kicked to the side instantly, directly into the Void itself.

Eric growled in anger as he finally regained some control.

It was now his power to use. And his emotions were coming back in earnest.

He whispered: " _The World_."

And in the stopped time, the whirlpool of his soul stopped rotating, with his emotions shooting to the surface.

The grey of his aura turned a brilliant white as his anger raged within his heart.

His heart was the sun, too intense to bear.

 _The sun._

Through his madness, one coherent thought made it through.

"I'll make you understand fear. I'll make you understand what she thought right before she perished!"

He grabbed Death's torso with both arms and held him and the Void of Sin above his head.

" _ **IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND!"**_

Eric pushed off the ground. He has six out of twelve seconds left, The World's ability having increased in proportion to his new strength. The rawness of leaving the atmosphere was nothing when moving at hundreds of times the speed of light.

He was breaking every rule in the book. For revenge. If he messed up, everything would be forced backwards in time from the sheer relativity of his movement.

He didn't know this. But as he left the Earth behind in a streak, there was nothing but anger left in him.

" _ **YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! YOU'VE DESTROYED MY LIFE! YOU BROKE HER SPIRIT YOU SPINELESS LITTLE SHIT!"**_

He started to warm up as he approached the Sun. Death was glowing orange as he slowly started to evaporate.

They were less than a mile from the Sun now. The only thing protecting them was Eric's sheer aura.

Death was merely flaking away without knowing it.

And that was too good of an end for him.

So Eric did a thing he'd only done once before.

" _ **Time RESTART!"**_

Death's eyes opened.

He saw a furious angel.

He felt heat licking his entire body.

He felt the vacuum of space.

He read Eric's lips, for there was no sound in space;

" _ **I HOPE YOU'RE AFRAID."**_

The cruel snarl on Eric's face was to be his last sight.

Eric had been gathering speed moving toward the Sun.

So it was good that the force he put into the pressure wave propelling Death matched his momentum.

So he didn't die.

But he was stuck in a nasty situation.

The World wouldn't be ready for thirty more seconds.

And his Origin State was about to fail.

It was flickering, even now.

He was alone in the void of space.

He screamed as the darkness and light caressed his body from either side.

His screams went unheard.

Like Violet's last words, that no one heard


	28. MAGIC

Chapter 28: [MAGIC]

Eric floated in the burning void near the Sun.

He writhed in pain, his lungs overexerted and running out of oxygen quickly.

He had quickly stopped his screaming when he'd remembered he was in space.

Every bit of O2 was required if he wanted to survive.

" _I just need to survive ten more seconds. The World will be ready then. Come on body! You can do this!"_

His body was slowly dropping out of the Origin State, his aura flickering slightly.

So while the pressures being exerted weren't a threat at the moment, they would be soon.

 _30 seconds from the last use had elapsed._

Eric's aura strengthened by a little, fortified by the 4th dimensional time energy as he prepared to stop time.

" _Now!_ _ **THE WORLD!**_ "

The space around Eric was now much more conducive to his movement, and after gathering his energy, he shot back towards the Earth.

And around halfway there, and eight seconds into the twelve available to The World, his aura started to sputter.

" _Shit… This form isn't going to last me the whole way to the Earth."_

And as the last flicker of his power died, he was near Venus. The World had a mere two seconds left.

And something from within his soul stretched out before him.

A strand of light.

He'd felt this warmth before. This strand stretched out to Earth.

It lead back home.

He'd felt this warmth only a few other times.

When he and Violet had completed a Covenant of Fire, their souls were linked permanently.

But the first time he'd felt her particular brand of magic….

As he collapsed, he was reminded of where his love for her started.

He'd been standing at her doorway. Violet had been lounging and reading, her bright-eyed fourteen year-old self content… But a little hungry.

Eric speaking up as he passed by set in motion the greatest love he'd ever know.

"You feel like lunch?"

She'd looked up at him as though he was her favorite person.

Their relationship had subtly changed since her accident.

The scar stretched down from her neck to her collarbone even now.

What had been said in that hospital room couldn't just be taken back. And Eric would never take those words back.

And she had nodded, now content just to walk next to him. Figuratively and literally.

Her eyes were cast at the ground, despite being happy to be around Eric.

The moments they spent together were always precious, she had realized.

So the offer of lunch had been pleasant.

And she would happily join him, even if it was a little late to have lunch.

2 o'clock.

As they approached the kitchen, Violet noticed something and froze.

The food was already cooked.

And when she saw the portions, it was for two.

He prepared enough for her. Just in case.

He held the door for her.

"Ladies first," he said, letting her go through.

He then turned back to get the food.

Just a white sauce pasta with grilled chicken.

Nothing special.

But as Eric brought it outside, Violet was beaming.

Naturally, she'd loved the attention and the food. But more than that was the person behind that attention and food.

The person who made her feel happy and accepted.

Eric.

"You know, Eric," Violet said with downward-facing eyes, "You're one of my favorite people. Stick around, please? Forever."

She looked up and grinned.

Her eyes locked with his.

And for just a moment, Eric felt warm.

Like a warm breeze just passed right through him.

There had been something there.

And the same feeling was pulling at a collapsing Eric's soul even now.

Even through the separation of Death, Violet was leading him home.

Violet cried alone on the steps of Paradise, refusing to enter the gates.

She waved off an angel, pushing her away.

" **I said leave me alone!"**

Her outburst created a shockwave that rocked the endless steps up to the Gates of the New Beginnings.

Violet couldn't let herself get distracted.

Pushing with all her might on her bond with Eric, she flickered him home.

And the soul of Violet fell to her knees and cried, smiling in a sad way.

She'd saved him.

And the next thing Eric knew, he was in the upper atmosphere of Earth, over Hawaii.

And he was home.

But falling and unconscious.

Markus had been notified by the Origin himself that Eric would need saving as he fell through the atmosphere.

And Markus caught him.

And Eric was alive, if exhausted.

As Markus made to leave, something reignited in Eric's heart.

"Violet. Don't you dare leave when I _**can STILL SAVE HER!"**_

He was slowly floating into the air, gathering a new aura. One of seafoam green. One of the energy of the Earth, who was lending Eric a hand in his desperation.

Markus stopped, and grimaced.

"Child, her soul cannot be reconnected by you alone. The Origin would have to be here, and use his powers through you."

A different, if familiar voice broke the silence.

"Actually… I am here. And I am impressed, mind y-"

Eric cut him off, desperate.

"Impressed enough to help me put her back together? Because if not, just **fucking leave and leave me to my grief."**

"And I understand your pain. Because I've been here before, in this same moment. I am you, in a way. I have the memories of every instance of you that could ever exist, Eric. I understand you _and this situation rather intimately._ Please be patient, and we can reconnect her body and soul. It will take years off of both your life and hers to do so, but I know it is within my abilities."

Eric had been waiting patiently, still cloaked in seafoam green light.

"Okay. Take control, connect with my soul, whatever you have to do. **JUST DO IT NOW WHILE I DON'T WANT TO DIE OUT OF GRIEF!"**

And with that, the Origin formed an aura around himself.

It attached itself to Eric's back, and connected with Eric's soul.

And then Eric had no control. And everything...reality, space, time… started to warp.

Laying on a step leading up to the Gates of New Beginnings, Violet felt a tug on herself.

She heard a whisper in her very essence;

" _Violet. Come home."_

She felt Eric's presence and latched onto him.

And Violet's eyes opened.

Eric had his thumbs on her forehead and sternum.

And the Origin's aura merged with Eric's as the healing started.

The brilliance of Eric's soul was shining through his eyes.

When the last of the skin stretched across her torso and her heart was regenerated fully, Violet collapsed, lifeforce exhausted.

Eric didn't take too much longer.

As he went down, he whispered one thing;

"Thank you. For saving her, I owe you everything."

The Origin turned away.

"I know."


	29. Unveiled

Chapter 29: Unveiled

Violet was on the couch when she woke up.

She blinked.

" _Who got me…"_

Looking over, she saw Eric, bloody and exhausted, on the loveseat. His eyes were still grey, and he looked taller and… Dare she say it, more built?

"Eric?"

He flinched visibly, looking over at her.

And then he saw her eyes open and alive.

Their eyes locked together. And slowly, their bond reactivated.

"Thank god. I was afraid our bond was gone."

Eric said, looking relieved.

"Well… It clearly isn't. But more importantly, why haven't you cleaned yourself up?"

He chuckled.

"Well, I was too busy watching over you and making sure you were gonna wake up."

She sat up, smiling.

"You doofus. I'm awake now. Go get a shower. Unless you want me to join you?"

Her look was saucy; unusually so.

Eric stiffened in his seat.

"Make that a cold shower."

He got up and walked away, heading for their bathroom upstairs.

Violet's eyes were amused, but internally she was wondering; whose blood was it?

Several minutes later, as she was inspecting the house for earthquake damage, she heard a door slam outside. Getting up and looking out the front window, she saw her mother hurrying to the front door.

"Well crap. This is gonna be awkward."

For you see, there were bloody footprints on the floor in the kitchen, which had white tile.

When her mother came in, she immediately called out her children's names.

"Violet? Eric?"

She sounded worried.

"I'm in here, mom." Violet responded from the kitchen.

Meredith ran to her daughter, embracing her.

"Oh thank god you're safe."

After a short hug, her mother noticed the blood on the floor.

And she asked about it.

"Violet. Why are there bloody footprints on my kitchen floor? Wait. Where's Eric? What happened here?"

From the doorway of the kitchen, Mr. Davidson entered.

Glancing at the floor, his eyes widened.

"My god! It looks like someone was stabbed in here!"

And as he moved forward towards his wife and daughter, he heard a voice behind him.

"Well, Clark, my child, it's a complicated story,"

Clark Davidson reacted instantly, swiveling on his right foot to deliver a devastating blow to the apparent intruder.

Which was stopped with no effort at all.

Clark's punch didn't even touch the man.

If you could call the Origin a man, that is.

"So, shall we move to your living room, and I'll explain?"

And by the time Eric had rejoined Violet and everyone else, the Origin had explained the majority of the situation leading up to Eric's fight.

Clark and Meredith were speechless.

Or...almost speechless.

"So you're literally god."

Clark emphatically stated.

The Origin laughed.

"Not really, no. I'm something similar, and I did create everything, but I'm nothing like the God that you worship, who by the way doesn't exist. It's just me and my angels. Of which your children are two. Your children are angels. Right this moment, you should be able to notice several differences in your son. He's taller now. He's broader now. More built. That's because he is already an angel, and what caused those earthquakes was him and the physical embodiment of Death fighting. The only reason the earthquakes stopped was because they moved into the upper atmosphere."

The two parents were shocked.

"They're...angels? Like wings and everything?"

The Origin nodded before gesturing at Eric. "Would you care to demonstrate, Eric?"

"Not inside."

Eric said, reasonably.

"Fair enough. Everyone, if you'd care to follow us to the back patio?"

Once everyone was out on the beach and Eric was closer to the water, he sunk deep into himself.

"Violet is in danger. Violet is about to die."

The ground started to shake as Eric hypnotized himself into believing that Violet wasn't safe.

"She's going to die if you don't transform. _**DO SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!"**_

His hair stood on end and faded to a light grey.

The air around him sparked into a roaring aura, filled with bright silver and gold sparks.

" _ **RAAAH!"**_

The ground under him was pushed away in all directions as his aura exploded in a flash of light, blinding everyone.

Aside from the Origin, who seemed content. Everything was going to plan.

As the dust and sand cleared away and everyone's eyesight returned, they were face to face with Eric.

Except, he'd gone a step further than the Origin had asked.

He'd broken through his shell again and reached the Origin State. Again.

Within 12 hours of first activating it.

The Origin was once again impressed.

And now, Eric was taller than his father.

But it didn't last.

He fell to his knees, and reverted to normal.

" **Ahh**. Why does everything burn?"

Eric winced in pain.

"Well, Eric, you tricked your body into going a step further than you needed to. And the Origin State, as it's called, shouldn't be used so quickly in succession. You're lucky to be alive right now. The amount of energy you possess must be massive to have survived a second ascension so soon after learning it."

He paused for a moment, before nodding at Violet.

"Violet, please go help your brother up. He needs rest. I'll explain the rest to your parents on my own. Go help Eric relax."

And as the twins went inside, Violet carrying Eric, her side of the bond secretly supporting him, the Origin drew up a chair and shifted into a form that was very familiar to the two parents.

He looked a lot like Eric, in this form.

A grown-up, shorter Eric, but nonetheless the resemblance was uncanny.

"Sorry. Wanted to shift into a more normal form so if an outsider saw me they'd think nothing of my presence. And now for the part that no one knows about yet. In a way, I am everyone at once. I have all the memories of every single instance of every single person that could ever exist. I know literally everything. I am called the Origin because I am the spiritual point where everyone is connected. I am everyone all at once. And the angels that I originally created are a slight exception to this. I have only one set of memories for them. But one thing you should know is this. The Angels were created for a reason. Eventually, long after these stars," he said, looking up to the night sky, "have died, one of them will replace even me. Because I will die. Cease to exist, aside from in memory. I don't have a soul, per se. I am soul, and when that runs out, I'll cease to be. And the next Origin will have to restart everything."

The two looked at each other, enlightened, in a way.

"I have one question. In this instance or what have you, do our children live good lives?"

The Origin chuckled.

"Yes. They are the most pure-hearted souls I've ever created. By far."

"Okay. I think that's all I need to hear. I'm...going to call it a night. Do you still need to talk to either of us?

"Yes. I suppose I do. Have a good evening, Clark. I need to talk about something with Meredith."

Clark went inside, tired and yawning.

"I only have the one thing to discuss with you. Angels are created in pairs for a reason. Meredith, my child, you need to make him understand before it's too late. If you push them away, in this instance, they will never come back."

Meredith was taken aback. Never come back? Her children?

"Okay. We'll talk about it. I'll make sure he understands."

"Good."

He disappeared on the spot. He simply warped out of his chair.

And from far off, a couple was walking along the beach, simply glad to be alive. After all, everyone in Hawaii had almost died.

If not for the Origin intervening, the tsunami would have swept everything away.

So the two returning late after an evening relishing life wasn't too odd as the two guests later explained to Meredith.

"He just stood in front of the wave and it disappeared. It was awe-inspiring to see that much power on display." Kousei said, sitting with Meredith and Kaori at the patio table.

"I can imagine. And I'm assuming that we can't tell anyone about any of this?"

Meredith questioned cautiously.

"Do you want the government experimenting on your children?"

Kaori answered, rather bluntly.

"Well, no. Definitely not."

Meredith was a little abashed.

"Well then there's your answer."

Meredith just looked up to the stars, wondering how she was going to break the news to her husband.

Those same stars were outside the window of her son's room.

Visibly twinkling, Violet looked at them, before returning her gaze back to her partner, who was still rather uncomfortable.

She'd just carried him up to his room, which was air conditioned.

His body was extremely overheated.

The aura he'd produced had superheated his body before it had been ready for another ascension.

"Violet," he said, writhing from discomfort, "I know you just carried me up here, but can you carry me to the bathroom? I feel sick."

The end of his sentence was punctuated by a shiver.

"Okay. Yeah. You're not gonna barf in your own bed. Not happening."

She said, leaning over and having him climb onto her back.

"I didn't say this the first time, but you've gotten heavier. Jeez hon."

He chuckled lightly. "Sorry. Can't really help it at this point."

His body against hers was as exciting as always. But this time was different, as they piggy-backed down the hall. His body was warm. Too warm. His forehead felt hot to the touch.

And so she rushed him to the bathroom, where he quickly got off her and promptly vomited into the toilet.

She was on her knees behind him, stroking his back, trying to help calm him as he let out everything he'd eaten for lunch.

"It's okay hon. There there. I'm here. Right here."

She hugged around his midsection from behind.

"You're going to be okay. I'm going to get you in a cold bath." She said, letting go and getting up and heading to their bathtub.

Eric got undressed as Violet started the water.

Her looks were appreciative.

"Hey Eric. Nice butt."

She said, as he got in.

He almost smiled. Almost.

Mostly the smile was negated as he shivered slipping into the chill water.

Once he'd settled in, he smirked and looked right at her.

"Not as nice as yours is."

Violet snickered.

"Eric... you're hardly in a condition to be raising your heart rate. So I'd suggest not talking about my butt."

Eric had the decency to blush.

"You're right."

"I know. Love you too."

She said as she leaned in and kissed his forehead before backing off.

"I'll be waiting in my room. Don't make me wait for my cuddles for too long mister."

Her eyes were amused, but her heart was as loving as ever.

The two houseguests were already cuddling in bed, content.

Kaori pressed her back against Kousei's chest.

She was the perfect amount of warm.

Their bond was as strong as ever.

She could see what he was dreaming about if she tried hard enough.

Her, mostly. Which was pleasant to see.

She turned back towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

As she saw the stars outside the window behind him, she wondered;

" _What next?"_

The stars had no reply.

Kousei had no reply.

The silence of the night had no reply.

 _When night falls_

 _And all expectations fall away_

 _The world has nothing left to say_

 _Love is never empty_

 _So long as life pounds_

 _Through the veins_

 _Love will endure_

 _When the morning dawns_

 _And the day to come is new_

 _Love can be right beside you_

 _With an answer_

 _To every question_


	30. Dance Now, Talk Later

30: Dance Now, Talk Later

Clark Davidson sat at his kitchen table with his wife. Simply put, he was still shaken up.

This being had come out of thin air.

His faith, which had usually been a strong point of his personality, was rattled.

His God had never existed.

And if that wasn't enough, Clark could tell that his wife had something more to tell him.

As the sun started on over the horizon, Meredith turned to him.

"Clark. The Origin gave me very sensitive information about the children last night."

Clark looked up quickly.

"Oh. What about specifically?"

"Well. Angelic souls are made in pairs. Mating pairs. Our children are fated to fall in love, and they can't stop it. They were born as twins on accident."

And Clark's eyes were suddenly dark, narrowed in out-right disgust.

"Oh."

He swallowed, uncomfortable.

"I don't know what to say to that."

Meredith's own eyes narrowed at his reaction.

"Are you not going to be supportive? It's not like they can help how they feel!"

Clark stood up. And for the first time in a long time, Meredith was afraid of her husband.

"Now listen here, woman. I raised our children to have good healthy lives. INCEST IS NOT HEALTHY!"

He moved a step closer, poking a finger in his wife's face. "You're lucky I don't have them taken to a psyche to be mentally examined, so _don't push your luck."_

And Meredith looked to the side for a second, seemingly thinking something through. And then, taking a step forward, she struck her husband across the face. Fist first.

Being unprepared for it, Clark was knocked to the ground.

"Out my children for something they can't control and this marriage is over. I love you, Clark, but you just can't get a basic concept."

And she turned away for a second. And Clark was more than a little angry.

"You clearly need to be taught a lesson in humility. I think I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN A PEG!"

And as he went to strike his wife, something blurred in front of him.

He saw a flash of gold right before he slammed into the wall behind him, being knocked out.

Eric.

" _ **JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"**_

He shouted this, the shockwave from his voice blasting his father back into the wall.

His angel form had come back again. His stamina was truly incredible, the invisible Origin thought.

" _How is he not dead from spiritual exhaustion?"_

And then Eric's body started to break down, golden aura dying down.

"F-fuck," he sputtered, blood leaking out the side of his mouth, going down on one knee, suddenly short of breath.

" _Well there's that, I suppose,"_ the Origin thought. Waving his hand in Eric's direction, he felt out what was wrong internally.

 _Pulmonary Embolism?_

" _Yeah, that sounds about right."_

Focusing closer on Eric's lungs, the Origin focused in on where the clot was.

Snapping his fingers, the clot disappeared.

Eric suddenly took in a breath.

" **HAAH,"** he exclaimed, inhaling.

Eric fell, collapsing onto the floor, body absolutely done.

Stopping time, the Origin took Eric back to his room, and laid him back next to Violet's pillow, which she'd given him so he could sleep next to something that smelled like her.

She'd gotten the idea from when she'd slept in one of his t-shirts and enjoyed the experience.

And then as the Origin departed, the two houseguests awakened.

One immediately went downstairs in search of food.

What he found was an odd situation.

"Oh dear."

 _A day later_

The entire house was tense as the day before the soiree dawned.

The two parents had been giving each other the silent treatment the whole day prior.

All that the two houseguests could do was practice.

The sounds of the music relaxed the air it touched.

A sort of illusion of the air.

The mood between the twins was intimate, and in many ways, full of reignited interest.

They were back to being a couple, even if it was quietly, and to themselves.

The music around them was familiar, yet distant.

It was soft, meant to soothe and sedate.

The unclear muddlings of the bass side of the piano provided a harmonically cloudy backdrop for the diatonic and strong melody.

They were ready for the soiree. But something was stirring in the man of the house.

Something foul and cruel.

He'd wait a day or two. And then he'd present them with an ultimatum. Obviously there might be difficulties getting them to comply, but otherwise, his plan would work.

" _How is it only four PM?"_ Violet wondered, looking at her phone. She'd just got back from surfing, and a particularly hard wipeout had sent her back home, discouraged.

Eric had been bodyboarding behind the house, and when he came up to greet her, his abdomen was rather pink from the friction.

"Ouch, hon. Doesn't that hurt?"

Violet winced, feeling her own shoulder, which had been slammed into the sand by an eight foot wave after it had knocked her off her board.

"You're one to talk. You look like you're in pain. Come lay down and sunbathe with me."

Eric offered, gesturing to two towels they'd laid out earlier.

"Yeah. Okay. That sounds nice."

She said, cracking her back as she moved forward.

"You want suntan lotion?" Eric asked, offering her the bottle.

Violet was quick to put her hair down. And looking over her shoulder; "Want to put it on me yourself?"

" _Oh wow."_ Eric thought. " _She looks...alluring."_

"I know you're staring. So come on. Get started."

Eric unscrewed the top as fast as he could.

His heart was racing at the thought of getting his hands on her body.

He was nervous, but exhilarated at the same time as he poured the lotion into his hands.

Violet laid down on the ground and waited patiently.

"Come on, Eric. Don't keep me waiting for too long."

"Keep talking like that, and that-" he said, undoing her top, "will only make me take my time."

He then pressed his hands into her shoulder muscles, rubbing the lotion in.

Violet simply laid there, contentment flowing out from her side of the connection.

"Yup. Just like that, Eric. Keep going."

And Eric did as he was told.

"Okay hon. You like this?" he said, moving a little lower.

"Yeah. That works with me. You know what? Just get it all."

She didn't have to tell Eric twice, his hands roaming across her back slowly and firmly.

And in less than five short minutes, a chapter of their life was over.

Violet, having thoroughly enjoyed her massage, laid her head down and rested, with Eric quickly following suit.

Little did they know that this would be one of the last times life would be this simple.

Home wasn't going to be home for much longer.

At six PM, the young couple was awoken by Kaori.

"Hey," she said, shoving Eric and politely shaking Violet, "get up and go on a double date with Kousei and I."

Violet sat up pretty quickly, and responded.

"Yeah. Okay. Let me wake up and ask my parents." She stretched after retying her top.

And Eric, whose face was full of sand thanks to Kaori, was pretty butthurt at being awoken so rudely.

"You know, you didn't have to shove me."

His words fell on deaf ears as the two women left him to clean up the towels and umbrella, which he did.

By the time he came in, Violet was in her bedroom getting dressed up.

It had only taken ten minutes for him to haul the massive umbrella up the beach back to their shed, and the chairs besides.

He quickly hopped in the shower, smelling Violet's strawberry shampoo.

" _Jeez why does everything she uses have to smell so good? I'm jealous."_ He thought, getting the sand out of where it had lodged itself during his bodyboarding escapade.

He then cleaned up and got out.

After taking next to no time on presentation or on his outfit, he came out of his room at the same time as Violet came out of hers.

"Oh come on," she said, annoyed. "How is it that you take no time getting ready and still look good?"

"You're one to talk. You don't need to try to look good, but when you do try…" he said, glancing up and down at her chic romper, which were paired with sandals and socks.

"You look great. Aside from the sandals with socks."

Her eyes narrowed a little.

"Hey. I take pride in my sandals and socks. Don't be mean."

He leaned in a little closer to her, stopping her as they walked down the hallway to the stairs.

"You do look incredible tonight."

He said this before pecking her on the lips.

"Should we get going? They're probably waiting for us." Eric said, leaning away.

"Yeah. I suppose so."

Their father saw them holding hands as they left with the houseguests.

And no matter how much he wanted to say something, it would have to wait.

When they arrived at the cafe that they'd be eating at, a small establishment that made mostly italian cuisine at dinner time, the men opened the doors for the girls.

It was all very normal until an older man took a look at them and decided to try and take Violet's purse.

And Violet, without looking, sensed that something was wrong, and teleported to the other side of Eric.

So the would-be robber ran into a man that was a foot taller while he was brandishing a knife at where Violet had been.

"Umm? _The World."_ His face wasn't even that angry. He shifted into his angel form for a moment, thrusting his fist forward lightly.

The next thing everyone knew, the man had been slammed into the wall twenty feet away.

The wall hadn't been cracked, which was good for them. Otherwise they all might have been in trouble.

Eric was only mildly annoyed. And after Violet started holding his hand in appreciation, that annoyance genuinely disappeared.

"Thanks hon," she said softly, squeezing his hand just that little bit extra.

"Love you." Eric whispered.

Violet whispered back in kind. "You don't even understand how much I love you."

They both blushed and looked forward at the doors being held open for them.

Kaori and Kousei had been being patient for an entire minute for them.

They entered and were seated at a table quickly.

There were many laughs throughout the double date, and the food was fantastic. But as it came time for dessert, the four of them were pretty stuffed, and couldn't eat anymore.

Kousei paid for everyone, and on the drive home, everyone was a bit drowsy, aside from Eric, who was driving.

When they returned home, it was time for bed, several hours having elapsed.

The two teenagers retired to their respective rooms.

The houseguests got their outfits ready for the next day's performance.

Everyone was ready.

But were they?

The sunrise awakened the couples.

One couple was separated by inches, with skin touching skin.

The other was separated by rooms. Palpable distance.

Both had bonds connecting their hearts.

One had a bond of fiery defiance, forged by a Covenant.

The other was made of bliss and warmth, created by the passions of life.

So while one couple, a pair of odd sorts, woke up to fiery love roiling throughout their chests, the other woke to the gentle warmth of their love being right next to them.

But which ones loved _more?_

Over the span of forty minutes, they all took showers, waking up, passing each other in the hallway with nothing more than a glance.

But in between Eric and Violet, that glance held the longing that all lovers have after being apart for a night.

That look said " _I want you beside me"_ even more than their bond did.

Violet had to get dressed alone, getting into an outfit that she knew Eric loved.

An elegant and slim number, it made her seem a little taller, even. Which Eric always appreciated, being so tall.

Kaori was slowly zipped into her performance dress, the very same she'd once worn in Denmark.

Kousei had helped his partner into her dress before getting dressed himself, his hair uncombed and scruffy.

This problem was left unsolved even as they took the stage an hour later in the middle of the massive pavilion. Its eggshell colored exterior gleamed as Kaori rosined up her bow one last time, and tuned her violin.

As Eric and Violet got into position in the middle of the crowd, Kousei started to play, and then the soiree began.

 _Two different kinds of dancing take place_

 _Of soul and body the four find_

 _That zeal can be found on any face_

 _So long as love is in the heart and mind_

Chapter Notes: We're finally approaching the end of this arc…. After two months or more.

Sorry. It took much longer than expected to get here.

Please review. I need feedback.

Also if you haven't read it by now, I wrote a lemon a loooong time ago and you should check it out on my profile.


	31. Soiree in Four Dimensions

Chapter 31: Soiree in Four Dimensions

The space between heartbeats was more than enough for the fiery bond between the twins to ignite in earnest.

And then Kousei made his grand introduction. A cadenza.

Trilling from a D# to an E in the upper register and then flying down from E in an undecidedly melodic way, Kousei went down the length of the piano grande, fingers moving swiftly. He played three different chords at the conclusion of the run.

An F major chord in third inversion was followed by a chord which was comprised of octave Gb's and C's in multiple registers, followed up by an F# major chord.

The people on the dance floor out on the beach stared in amazement.

"Wow. He's good."

"That was _so fast."_

And then Kousei began with the slow, diatonic introduction, leading the audience to begin dancing, the classical four-step style starting up amongst everyone.

As the introduction ended, Kaori herself started, the melody laying nicely on top of Kousei's harmony, but still allowing him to take the lead.

Violet leant on Eric's shoulder, with the two of them not even trying to dance.

They were at the edge of the dance floor, and for a usually fiery couple, their hearts were less demanding of intensity in that moment.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Violet whispered, her voice mingling with the cloying sound of Kaori's violin.

"Of course," he whispered back, "why wouldn't I be? You're here."

With a piano sweep from a high register of the key root down to the note he desired, Kousei caught everyone's attention before emphasizing a specific chord.

Leading Kaori down the passage of music, he himself let his heart bleed into what he was playing, going into a series of turns and trilling a note before stopping altogether.

Kaori took the spotlight, playing something that was seemingly out of place, before bending the note up chromatically, matching the key.

Breaking the ii, V, and vii* chords and arpeggiating back and forth between them, Kaori did as she pleased for several moments, the audience just watching in wonder.

And she too eventually stopped.

But they started together, at last, Kaori still soloing, but this time off of a written solo and not improvising. Kousei laid his own chords underneath as she just flowed along, speeding up and slowing down as she desired to.

He followed her like he always had.

Incredibly well.

The air around them shivered, as an illusion formed.

The crowd saw a scene from a Totsuhara University Hospital room.

A young girl was writing a letter, her skin pale, her eyes desperate and teary.

" _I love you. But... I'm going to leave you behind."_

This voice echoed through the minds of all that were present.

And the crowd was slightly startled.

"Umm?"

"What was _that?"_

"What did I just see?"

But as some people were starting to leave, the music continued.

And the intervention of the Origin certainly helped everyone forget what they'd seen.

And everyone continued dancing.

But one pair on the outer edge of the dance floor was stunned, unaffected by the Origin's relatively weak attempt at a mass mind-wipe.

Eric and Violet were no longer holding each other.

"Whoa," Violet whispered.

"I think that might have been something we weren't meant to see. Do you want to keep dancing anyway?"

Eric was delicate about this, unsure of what to do.

"Oh come on you big baby. Dance with me."

Violet's eyes lit on fire, boring into Eric's.

He was silent for a moment, letting the music fill the air between them.

"...fine."

Leading her, they leant back against each other once more.

They were warm. And not because their bodies were touching. Their souls were very cozy in that moment.

And they were comfortable as Kaori and Kousei slowed their pace, and their song ended.

Except, it didn't.

Something went wrong.

The air around Eric warped and cracked, before splitting like a kaleidoscope, infinite versions of the same images filling the now-infinite 3d space around each person.

Eric had been lucky to have been holding onto Violet.

So as others lost their dates in the countless mirrored images around them, they held tight.

They couldn't speak, or move, or hear.

Unless you count hearing the blood pound in your ears as something invisible tries to pull the love of your life away from you.

Eric's vision was filled with Violet's very disturbed face.

Her side of their bond was heating up, signalling that she was in danger.

The Origin appeared, then.

"This is certainly a pickle, now isn't it?"

He spoke right into the twin's minds.

"What we have here is something Death likes to call 'The Final Consequence.' This is the only timeline that I'm aware of that he uses it in. You two did finish him off, but he exists in four dimensions. You only trapped three of those dimensions away inside the sun. This phenomenon is a splintering of time, which in turn splinters space itself. You are the strength of your grip away from losing each other in infinities of infinities. The tangle you're trapped in lasts for one long drawn-out instant. But this instant can last for days because of how broken time is here. You have to find a way out. I could help you, but this is your test for each other. If you love each other, and I mean truly love each other, you will find a way, even when there is none. Remember, Eric, Angels have powers _for a reason."_

The Origin vanished, leaving behind the trapped couple, holding onto each other in the cracked reality that their minds could barely understand.

The only thing not split into a million pieces which cascaded and shimmered was the connection that had since become visible, wrapping itself around their hands.

" _Well, we have powers, yes. But if you hadn't noticed… FUCK HE'S GONE!"_

Eric spoke to himself inside his head, having to close his eyes to be able to think.

" _ **Eric. Calm yourself."**_ Violet's voice breached his mindscape, as she tried to find a way to escape the trap.

He flinched, not expecting the mental intrusion.

" _Well. Okay. I guess you couldn't really warn me. What do you think he meant by angels having powers for a reason? Is this a test of our powers?"_ He thought.

" _ **Maybe. But that means we'd both need to be in angel form, right? I've never really activated mine on my own before."**_

Violet was distinctly afraid that she wouldn't be able to do anything, and Eric knew it, their souls being in such intimate contact.

And Violet was starting to panic in earnest.

" _What if I fail and lose him?"_ Violet's breathing started to speed up.

" _It's okay. I'll power up first, and let you feel what it feels like. You're already inside my head, right?"_ Eric's reassurance connected with Violet, and she calmed down a little.

" _Okay, Violet. First, I make my entire musculature rigid, locking my position into place, so the ascension doesn't hurt my body."_

Violet felt his hands grip hers noticeably tighter.

" _Next, I feel the well of power at the base of our connection, and let it flow out."_

His inner mindscape turned from a dark valley into a sunrise.

" _And then I immerse myself in it."_

There was a crack and intense pressure around Violet's body as Violet held onto Eric as tightly as she could.

His wings materialized and his halo appeared, splitting apart into millions of smaller lights in the kaleidoscope of the air, in Violet's eyes.

The pressure settled after several moments, the blood pounding in their ears becoming the loudest noise once more.

Eric felt Violet tense up. She wasn't perfectly rigid, but she would avoid most of the injuries caused by the expansion of the muscles.

Reaching into herself, Violet's outer aura started to appear as the unrestrained power leaked out.

It was Eric's turn to hold on for dear life as Violet's muscles and bone structure altered slightly, mostly to accommodate for her wings and increased physical strength.

With that change came massive pressure waves which almost made Eric let go of his partner.

And then they were both in their angel forms, without a further clue on what to do.

 _When things split at the seams_

 _And waste spills onto the ground_

 _And into the cracks and fissures_

 _Two can keep their dreams_

 _And keep themselves around_

 _By not folding under the pressure._

Author's note: Thanks to everyone that reads this fanfic!

I'm trying to speed up its production, but my muse sometimes disagrees.

Please review! It might help me write better!


	32. Perfect Storm

Chapter 32: Perfect Storm

The pressure around them was, oddly enough, pushing them together, in the shattered world of infinities that they'd found themselves in.

The twins were completely encased in auras that were slowly starting to normalize their fourth dimensional sight.

Violet's seafoam green mingled with Eric's gold in a light show that no one would ever see.

Their eyes were shut, focusing on each other.

" _ **Is synching together even going to work? Can you control THE WORLD to that extent?"**_ Violet's concerns were viable, and Eric was almost second-guessing himself.

But thinking back to what the Origin had said, he knew that they had to make a way for themselves.

Always charging forward towards their freedom. That's what their lives were now.

And Eric was leading that charge.

Violet's form wasn't going to last for long, with her having expended the majority of her energy making the ascension.

She strained, her forehead dripping with sweat.

" _ **Eric… is… it ready yet? The pressure is making it hard to hold this state…"**_

Violet's own hair was starting to fade from the light bronze it had attained upon her transformation.

Every breath, every twitch of her muscles, every unnecessary movement was draining her twenty times more than it normally would.

Eric had been spending the last minute or so wrapping himself and Violet inside a bubble of his aura, and concentrating on that outer border, his eyes snapped open and he roared silently; " _ **THE WORLD!"**_

When Violet was still able to think in the world of stopped time, Eric shouted into the confines of his mind:

" _ **MOVE US! NOW!"**_

But Violet's body shook uncontrollably, almost dropping her out of her angel form.

Despite all of the internal pain that Violet was feeling, she was able to shift them in only one direction; up.

When Kaori and Kousei opened their eyes after everything ceased making sounds, they saw something they'd never forget. The inside of a four-dimensional shape.

Kousei squinted before closing his eyes altogether. No need to mess up his brain.

Kaori silently agreed, telling him so through their bond.

They were contained in a safe zone of sorts. A comfortingly familiar voice from behind them had alerted them to the presence of the Origin.

"Hello, you two. I can't really explain in full what's going on... right now. I have two others for whom this is their final challenge. You two have already been through your trials. You two are safe. Just had to make sure you knew."

And just like that, he was gone, not even an outline of an outline left behind.

What seemed like only an instant later, Violet and Eric were drained, falling down through the air, their eyes elated and grateful.

Nothing else mattered in that moment, even as they fell to an almost certain demise. At least they'd die together, not separated by infinite dimensions.

But one hundred feet from the ground, the bond took control of Eric.

The air around him flowed inward towards him, forming a thin layer of grey around his body.

The aura of Eric's Origin form was more violent than usual, as their fiery bond remotely activated it out of necessity.

His body quickly moved over next to Violet, inverted her so that she was in the safest position for landing as possible in case the maneuver failed, and he then grabbed her under one arm.

The massive pressure wave he created punching at the ground slowed their fall enough that Eric was able to land, if a little heavily.

Eric promptly collapsed.

Violet fell into unconsciousness.

And then someone started screaming.

People were gone.

Kaori was the one who screamed.

Every single person, aside from Eric and Violet, who laid in an exhausted heap, was gone. Had vanished into thin air.

Death had destroyed more than one hundred lives.

Just like that.

And they couldn't stop him from doing it.

The pavillion was fine. The people that had once stood on it were gone forever, trapped away forever from their loved ones.

Kaori and Kousei quickly woke up Eric and Violet.

Eric gave his keys to Kousei and told him that he was too exhausted to drive well.

"Just get us back to my house. This is going to be difficult to explain to any law enforcement. We're ALL leaving Hawaii. Tonight. I don't care how much money it costs. I will go out after I recover my strength and _rob a fucking bank if I have to."_

And after that declaration, the entire car was quiet, aside from the sounds of the freeway rushing underneath them.

Clark Davidson had been waiting for his children to arrive home. But he hasn't expected it when they came back three hours early.

What he liked even less was when his son came through the door carrying his daughter _bridal style._

" _Oh, no. Not in this house."_

He moved forward to intercept his son's path.

But his son simply phased right through him.

Or...around him?

Whatever had happened, Clark was even more annoyed.

"Young man! Get back here this instant!"

His beady eyes were furious.

Eric stopped and sighed, before turning his head back slightly.

"I thought you knew, father. Violet and I are lovers, and we're leaving Hawaii. Today. Whether you like it or not. Hell, if you try and hurt Violet, I might as well…" he paused, before going that one step further, " _kill you."_

The last part was said with enough venom to make his father flinch.

" _ **You're not my father anymore. You will never meet our children. Say goodbye to your children…"**_

And with that being said, Eric ascended the stairs.

Clark Davidson was left empty, aside from the two tears that escaped and hit the carpet.

About half an hour, when Violet was cognizant, their mother gave her blessing over her pile of wash.

Teary-eyed, she only barely got it out.

"Yes. The two of you can leave. Take our suitcases, you'll be able to fit more in them."

As the twins turned away, to grab the luggage, she whispered something.

" _Please...don't forget about your mother. Never forget that I love you."_

And with that, the tears started to flow between all of them.

When love is implied, it almost seems stronger than in any other form.

Love is unconditional in an implied form.

The two children just hugged their mother and cried. They were leaving.

When they attempted to pack anything, the suitcase seemed able to fit _anything inside._

An older looking version of Eric had visited that afternoon, wanting to take a look at those same suitcases.

Of course, it had been the Origin.

The first true hero.

For a hero meddles when he doesn't have to.

A hero meddles when to do so would put their own existence at risk.

A hero is self-sacrificing.

And in a way, the Origin was the ultimate example of self-sacrifice.

To know everything that could, can, and will be, is a burden.

The ultimate burden.

"Are you two ready to leave yet? Violet and I are all packed."

The evening sun draped itself across everything it could see, including Eric, as he stood in the doorway to the guest room.

"Yes. I suppose we are."

Kaori answered. Their packing had been frantic, the gravity of the situation only hitting them when they had arrived back at the Davidson's house.

People had gone missing, and the only witnesses had fled the scene.

Such a burden, created by evil itself.

It's a good thing that love isn't in four dimensions.

Love only lasts as long as you want it to.

If even one tiny corner of your mind wants it, the rest will hold on.

 _Burdens are meant to be lifted_

 _Lifted off the shoulders and away from the soul_

 _A promise, filled with fire_

 _A passion, fueled by time_

 _Love is meant to be gifted_

 _Gifted with gratitude, its greatest, only goal_

 _Two pairs, filled with sacrifices dire_

 _Unaffected by any reason or rhyme_

Author's note: This chapter was actually really easy to write somehow. Hopefully it reads just as well as I think it does.


	33. Where We've Been: Eric

Where We've Been; Eric

 _We begin where it all started._

As a young boy, Eric was playing on the beach with his mother, just barely toddling around.

She was stressed, but how would he know. They had just separated, and the twins were almost two.

The young Eric had a flash of something.

A glimpse of a vision.

Jet black hair, and even though he didn't understand it, he felt comforted.

He had a sudden moment of coherence.

"Vi?"

And just as quickly as it had appeared, the flash faded away, leaving just a toddler in its wake.

Meredith Davidson sat mere feet away. For a moment, it had almost sounded like Eric had asked for his sister.

" _It couldn't be."_

Eric is now six, and his father had made one of his bi-monthly visits.

The sun was fading into the horizon, and as the last light was about to fade, he felt someone else.

It was like they were right next to him, and slightly behind.

He turned around.

"Who's there?" he asked.

But there was no one.

Eric felt warm, even as the sun sunk underneath the skyline.

Eric was seven, and practicing his piano.

He was almost ready to enter a competition.

It would be his first one.

"Mom?" he called out.

"Yes, honey?" his mom answered from the other room.

"Am I ready for this?"

There was a pause.

"Do you think you are?"

It was two months after Eric's eighth birthday.

His father had been too busy to visit recently.

His mother had said, "Your father has enough of a handful to deal with himself."

Eric had been confused by this.

"What do you mean?" his eyes were curious.

"...I'll tell you when you're older, honey. You wouldn't understand." She couldn't tell him. It would be too cruel.

She didn't want to have that man around more than necessary. Her bruises had been enough once.

She was just glad that he loved his children, instead of taking out his anger on them.

" _Better it be me, I suppose."_

Eric had been nine for about 5 months. It was approaching Christmastime.

Eric had cheekily been playing Christmas carols on the piano for the past two months, and after the joke had lost its luster, he was left wanting someone there with him.

Eric wasn't bored, no, he… was lonely.

Eric Davidson was lonely.

As he tried the swing section from "Happy Holidays" just one more time, he felt sad.

The music had lost its feeling.

Something felt missing. Part of him felt missing, every year at around this time. His heart just couldn't relay that to his mind yet.

He wasn't old enough to understand many things, but as Eric started to cry, laying his head down on the piano, he understood that something was wrong.

The upheaval of emotions was missed by his mother, until she walked into the room he had been in.

She was silent, rubbing his shoulder gently.

She just held him.

Love, after all, is strongest when implied.

A mother's bond is often the strongest there is.

The big ten.

Eric was finally starting to understand a little bit of the world.

Not much, but he understood what that little tug in his chest was.

He was lonely.

And he knew it, now.

He was the big ten. But he sure as heck didn't feel like he was that big.

Especially now, looking up at a wave that was about to swallow him whole.

But he just stood still, and let his body move.

The next thing he knew, he woke up in a hospital bed to the sound of someone leaving the room, closing it loudly.

Looking around and inspecting his surroundings, Eric saw his mom. Outside the room was a bit of commotion.

A little girl was bouncing up and down, trying to see in.

They made eye contact, and then a familiar voice said, "Let's go. We still have to get dinner."

And then the little girl disappeared.

He wondered about her for a long time.

Because for a second, when their eyes met, his heart didn't tug at him anymore.

He had since forgotten about that girl outside the hospital room.

Eleven was a year of competitions and piano lessons that Eric thought he didn't need, because well, he really didn't need them.

Eleven was the year that Eric blossomed from an intermediate player into a prodigy.

Eleven was the year that Eric learned that he didn't have grandparents.

They had died the previous year in a car crash.

Eric met Death by chance.

He didn't know it, but the night that they died, Eric had felt himself being watched.

And he was being watched.

But something didn't sit well with killing this child...right now.

" _You'll live, for now. But-"_

Death felt the accident occur about two miles away.

And he forgot about the boy as he went to collect the souls that were trapped in broken bodies.

Sometimes, Death was releasing a soul that was in pain, unable to see, hear, feel... to an afterlife of bliss.

But the boy would live.

There was a new person with his father.

Someone small stood behind him, shy.

He didn't even have to remember what his father said; he just knew that his lips moved and then Eric saw her.

And it was like deja vu upon deja vu…

It was like Eric had been there before.

Like he'd been there so many times, but couldn't recall it.

In truth, many different versions of Eric were watching this very moment.

From afar, from up close.

Within sight or outside of reality.

This had always been _His_ favorite memory.

In a place with no time or space, two beings floated in the dark.

"Eric… do you regret anything?"

 _When it's time to forget_

 _Many things tend to stick_

 _Around for longer than we intend_

 _When Death comes to collect_

 _Sometimes mercy is granted_

 _Which without, hearts cannot break or mend_

 _When love is formed_

 _And opens your eyes_

 _You're never the same_

 _Why would you want to go back?_

Author's note:

Writing this chapter made me cry.

Like what the heck.

One review = one less tear

Thanks for reading.

Next chapter:

Where We've Been: Violet


	34. Where We've Been: Violet

Where We've Been: Violet

Once again, we examine the past of another one of our main characters.

We begin in a similar place, but instead of behind the beach house in the south of Maui, in an apartment more to the north.

We begin at the same time.

A young girl is sitting next to her father, almost falling into a doze, resting her head.

Despite it being in the middle of the day, this was one of Clark's few days off, and he was keeping a close eye on his daughter.

Even though his work had a daycare system in place, that didn't mean he saw his daughter much more than in the morning and then later at night. So he treasured days like these.

The furniture is corduroy and light brown.

The couch is plush and gentle against a two-year old Violet Davidson's body.

Her head lays on the arm of the chair, tuckered out.

Clark sees his daughter blink back to awareness, and her eyes widen.

"Eri?" she says, loudly enough for her father to hear.

Her father just sat there, stunned.

Violet sat at the table with her sitter. It was late, around eight o clock, and the six year old Violet was quietly coloring.

It had been a tough day at school, and Violet was tired.

More tired than usual.

At least, to a young Violet, it was tiredness.

She felt like she had forgotten something.

But she ignored the nagging feeling, and continued drawing her giraffe.

Her sitter, a young woman of twenty-three, noticed the shift in demeanor, but didn't say anything.

By the time her father had gotten home, her giraffe was done.

His eyes shined with pride as he stuck it to the fridge with a magnet.

"Well done, Violet."

But as he said that, the sun sunk below the horizon.

And it felt like someone was right next to her.

*SPOOK WARNING: if you are easily offended by mentions of assault, turn away now*

(Though I suppose that if you've read through the entire story you've been through worse by now)

At seven, Violet was still the perfect, precocious child.

Sweet and simple, if you were looking from the outside.

Like the man who was currently creeping through her window, which had been left open.

Adorable, as naive as one would expect, and his for the taking.

" _Stupid child,"_ the man thought, as he set his second foot on the floor.

He was a repeat offender that never learned.

His first crime had gone unnoticed, a homeless girl with no family that would have missed her. His second crime still hadn't been solved either. But his third had failed, and he had given himself up, and gotten a plea deal.

Instead of the highest level of assault, he had received the third highest level.

This would probably be his last crime if he got caught, though.

Keeping this in mind, he was extremely careful picking the girl up.

Waking her would be an instant death sentence. He'd been stalking her for a while, and he'd seen her father many times.

That man would have no trouble at all with the much smaller convict, who was of a small build and average height.

As a young latino man, he was surprisingly not as terrible as you'd think a child molester would look.

His buzz cut was of military fashion, but that was the last similarity to the military that he had.

Picking the girl up was surprisingly easy, lifting her out of her sheets, hoisting her over one of his shoulders and climbing out of the window.

He almost knocked her head against the window frame, but fortunately for him, he didn't, and so he earned himself a few more seconds.

As soon as one of his feet touched the fire escape, it creaked. Loudly.

And Clark Davidson, who had been awake, unable to sleep, heard it.

Something felt… Off.

Almost like the feeling you get when you know you're being watched, but worse.

He felt like something was screaming in the back of his mind.

" _Maybe it's nothing. But I'm still gonna check."_

He sidled out of his bed, and made his way across the hall to Violet's room.

What he found boiled his blood.

An empty bed, and an open window.

He heard steps on the fire escape, down below.

His mind didn't really catch up before he started moving, his legs forcing him forward.

Every hero has a tale at their beginning about where their body moved on its own.

Going by that metric, Clark might have made a good hero.

So he didn't think as he dove head first over his daughter's bed and into the night.

His weight shook the entire fire escape as he landed. He had front-flipped before righting himself and slamming down onto both feet.

He didn't even have to think. He just moved.

The man had reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard and felt the structure shake.

He looked up, making eye contact with his victim's father.

He felt very small as he started to run away.

" _ **YOU! PUT HER DOWN!"**_ Clark wasn't messing around, roaring as loud as possible.

Both the convict and his daughter flinched.

As Violet awoke, she blinked and looked into the face of the unfamiliar man that was holding her.

She saw a middle-aged latino man, who had predatory brown eyes that gleamed and flashed dangerously as they passed streetlight after streetlight.

"Oh. _Hello there."_

Her eyes widened and she started to struggle, screaming.

" **LET. GO. OF. ME!"** she shouted in an oddly punctuated way.

Clark had almost reached the bottom of the stairs as the man reached the ABC store half a block away.

She kicked and bit at the man, scratching and pushing the whole way.

The man leant toward the child menacingly.

"If you don't stop, I'm not going to be so gentle later."

While that briefly shut Violet up, she saw her father approaching over the man's shoulder, and with all of her seven year-old might, she kneed him in the face.

He flinched, nose broken.

" _ **FUCK! YOU BRAT!"**_

Unfortunately for the man, that meant that he was slowed down enough for his victim's father to catch up. Even more unfortunately for him, Clark had been a sprinter in high school and his legs meant he had a large stride.

And he turned around to the sound of quickly approaching footsteps.

" _ **VIOLET! DADDY'S HERE!"**_

Violet was shoved to the ground by her assailant.

" _ **Don't worry, I'll deal with you in a second,"**_ he said, leeringly.

His guard down, he chuckled.

And in turn got to experience the desperation of a parent.

The anger of a parent afraid for their child's life.

" _ **YOU!"**_ Clark shouted, before lunging at the man, going in for the kill.

And kill it was.

And as her father snapped the man's spine by throttling him, twisting him apart, skin splitting and filling the road with a river of blood, Violet saw Death for the first time.

She would be haunted for years by the image of that man's crazed eyes, still on her, even as he died.

The man made sure to haunt her dreams and nightmares alike.

It was seven months later, and Violet's eighth birthday had been two months ago.

She had been in therapy once a week, every week, ever since then.

It was for reasons both obvious and not obvious.

The obvious reason was that mentally, an adult would have trouble processing what had happened to Violet. And she had been seven. Emotionally, she just couldn't handle it.

It had caused her to spiral into symptoms of worsening social and general anxiety.

The panic attacks had become frequent in the week following the event.

Her father couldn't adequately explain to Violet what had happened, so he called in a favor from one of his old female colleagues.

She happened to be a therapy major with a minor in child psychology.

A pediatric therapist who had helped many children like Violet.

So when her father stopped going to see her mommy, Violet didn't really notice.

"I'm sorry, Meredith. But Eric will have to wait until next month. Tell him I'm sorry that I can't visi-"

His estranged wife hung up on him.

He sighed, sitting back down in his corduroy chair.

His little girl struggled to sleep in the other room.

He'd had the fire escape's bottom taken off, the last portion of it replaced by an extendable ladder that was far out of reach of the ground when fully pulled up.

Therapy hadn't helped much, as of yet. Hopefully it would do better as time went on.

And then father and daughter alike could be at peace.

At nine, Violet was still struggling to recover from her immense anxiety.

She was lonely, untrusting, and emotionally cold.

She didn't trust anyone who even remotely resembled her assailant.

Once, she shut down in the middle of a KFC because the cashier looked too much like...him.

"Daddy, I'm scared," she whimpered, crying as she was being carried gently back out to the car.

Ultimately, her father had explained to the cashier what was wrong.

While initially offended, the man quickly understood the young girl's particular predicament.

She would have attacks at least once every other week.

And even when it was broad daylight out and her father was home, she refused to answer the door.

But then the door opened.

Her mommy.

Her heart soared, and no one saw the tiny spark of seafoam green that lit up her eyes from the inside out.

And that was the beginning of her true recovery.

It had been only a day since she'd turned ten.

But her father had demanded, however gently, that she stop what she was doing. They were going out.

When they arrived at their destination, it was the hospital that she had her memory sessions at.

That was what her daddy always called therapy.

Which Violet knew was what it was.

They eventually arrived at a door, which the young girl pushed open with abandon.

She was reminded to be quiet by her father, before the two of them entered.

A young boy and her mother were inside.

The young boy was attached to several instruments, and was asleep.

Violet had many questions, but she stayed quiet, and sat in between her parents, as they bantered lightly.

Her parent's conversation only lasted ten minutes before her father told her it was time to leave.

She accidentally closed the door a little too hard.

Standing on her tip-toes, she looked back in to see if she had woken the boy up.

And their eyes met.

 _Her world filled with color._

She had found it hard to forget about that boy.

He had made her feel something.

He had made her see the color of life all around her.

Especially after her father and mother started to talk more again.

Her mother would call, and ask to speak to Violet, after a five-or-so minute conversation with Clark.

This was where Clark and Meredith's relationship started to heal.

They didn't even have to talk about anything specific.

And once, Violet might have heard her father apologize.

Once, in the background, Violet heard the sound of a piano. Curious, she almost asked about it.

But it was fleeting as her mother spoke back up.

She never really made the connection she needed to.

She never answered the small question of; who is he?

She rounded the corner, following her father, her flip-flops *flacking* on the concrete slabs.

And then she spotted him.

The boy from before. A little awkward looking, and certainly more scrawny than she'd remembered. But that was okay.

It wasn't like Violet herself hadn't just started...developing. So she, too, was awkward.

She was going to be shy either way.

She immediately hid behind her father.

She didn't remember what her father said, but she remembered vividly what happened as he moved aside.

She smiled, in a way that she hadn't in a long time.

The muscles around her eyes pulled back, and she exposed part of her lower teeth in addition to her upper teeth and upper gums.

Violet Davidson smiled in earnest for the first time in five years.

In a place with no time or space, two beings floated in the dark.

There had once been stars here.

"Eric… do you regret anything?" Violet asked.

It had been a long time since either one had said anything at all.

"...No, my love."

Eternity truly had been a long time.

 _Anger often breeds consequence_

 _For others outside your own recompense_

 _When the time passes, what will be said?_

 _When a simple smile cannot be found_

 _And suffering is hidden underground_

 _Life passes us by_

 _When we find love_

 _Anger fades_

 _Suffering diminishes_

 _Pain recedes_


	35. The Heist

Chapter 35: The Heist

Their collective butts were in the sand, planning as well as creating one last memory of the house on the beach.

"Everything is loaded up, right?" Eric asked, looking upwards towards the afternoon sky.

"Yeah. I think so. Should we leave the blender?" Violet's eyes were mirthful.

"Yeah. We'll leave the blender." Eric was much too serious, in Violet's opinion. This was a huge event for them!

It was 4 PM. They didn't have that much longer to get out of Hawaii. There were police at the scene of the crime, and the incident was already live on CNN.

" **Today in Hawaii more than one hundred people went missing. CNN Correspondent Michael Marron coming to you live, right now."**

" **Thanks Sharon. Now earlier today this empty courtyard was full of people, all taking part in the "** _ **Soiree on the beach,"**_ **sponsored by…"**

Eric shut off his phone. He'd used up enough data already.

Their rooms were completely empty, entirely stripped of everything inside. Those suitcases were much bigger than they seemed on the outside.

Thanks to the Origin's tinkering, they had fit all of their respective belongings. And he had made it so that once the inside contents weighed so much, additional weight was nullified as it was put in.

And as Eric's mind snapped back to reality, his worries came back.

"How are we going to get off this island? We are technically the cause of all of those disappearances, and we signed in when we got there. When they find out that we're the only survivors, the government might want to know what happened. And if we tell them the entire truth, then we'll end up a government experiment, being cut open and sewn back up for scientific knowledge." Eric's rare anxiety was showing at full force.

Violet put a hand on his shoulder, steadying his aura instantly. Their connection was filled with that characteristic warm breeze.

He smiled as his outer composure melted away. He could be entirely calm because of her presence.

But she removed her hand.

"That is a legitimate concern, Eric. But we could always start with robbing that bank that you joked about earlier. Seems like it would be an easy feat for you two, honestly." Kousei said, speaking up.

And that got the wheels turning in the twin's heads.

They mentally linked and started planning.

That is, Violet connected with Eric's mindscape because Eric lacked the psychic finesse to access another's mind.

And so they planned.

The two parents were in the same room, both angry, for different reasons.

Clark sat fuming at the table, unable to exert any control over his children or wife. This truly annoyed him. He was supposed to be the one in charge. He'd worked hard to be able to support his family. So the whole situation truly annoyed him.

Meredith Davidson, on the other hand, wanted to strangle her husband for how unsupportive he was being.

" _How can you be so callous? Where is the man I fell back in love with, the man that was willing to kill for his daughter?"_ Meredith's heart was heavy.

She hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days.

She decided to stop cleaning the dishes for the moment.

And neither of them said anything about it.

Kaori was cheerful as ever.

"So you'll basically milk the most out of the world as possible by transforming, Eric? Should Violet transform too? Wouldn't that increase her accuracy and range, teleporting-wise?"

She had Eric there.

He made a face that expressed confusion.

"I suppose you're right, Kaori. Those are valid points."

And then they planned the exact sequence, while Violet typed up the plans as a memo on her phone.

She'd be getting a new phone anyway.

Didn't matter how much evidence was on the phone if it was vaporized by Eric.

There were only a few things that could go wrong, she thought to herself.

" _We could accidentally grab dye-packs. That would be really bad. What else? Well, we could run into internal security equipment set to go off if disturbed physically."_

She thought this to herself before conveying it to Eric.

While the twins thought up their plan, Kousei just watched with amusement. It seemed as though Kaori shared his sentiment, as whenever they got really heated on a specific point, she'd chuckle lightly.

It was tiny, trivial moments like these that made him remember how lucky she was to be still living, and how lucky he was to still have her by his side.

He pulled her close.

"I love you."

She whispered in return; "And I you, Kousei. And I you."

And at once, some of the tension was pulled out of the air.

Eric was the first to speak on it.

"Is everyone ready to go? Deep breaths all around, you hear? No heart attacks. Violet and I will be in and out. No exceptions."

And breathe deeply they did.

Eric etched the memory of these three into his mind.

He'd never be back here with these three ever again. This was an event that wasn't really supposed to have happened.

He felt, deep down, that somewhere that something in the past had _shifted_ somehow. He couldn't tell how. But there was something wrong with the timeline he existed in.

He closed his eyes.

He felt the error in… This universe.

Kaori.

He turned towards her. The scars on her chest glowed so brightly with a spiritual aura that they were visible through his eyelids.

" _She...shouldn't be alive?"_

Well, it didn't matter. He had more important things to worry about.

They pulled up a block away from the bank, far away from any surveillance equipment.

Eric and Violet kissed briefly in the backseat of the car, its light-colored leather sticking slightly to their hands, as they got ready and steeled their nerves.

" _We can do this."_

They got out of the car, heading towards the shade of a tree.

They went behind it, and syncing their minds, they both transform as quickly as possible.

Eric and Violet both tense up, with Eric bulking up a substantial amount.

" _The WORLD,"_ Eric whispers, time stopping for everyone aside from Violet and himself.

Thankfully enough, Violet knew this bank well, and focusing, they only wasted a second or so out of twelve outside of the bank.

Violet and Eric flickered for a moment before they appeared in the time-stopped lobby.

Looking around and surveying his surroundings, Eric noted that they had no security measures until you got to the vault. Rookie mistake.

Thankfully the door to the vault wasn't open, so no one was inside.

That would make THE WORLD running out of time a lot less of a problem.

They could just wait a minute quietly while it recharged.

Violet focused again, straining slightly, and then they popped out of existence before flickering into the vault.

Violet quickly pulled out the plastic garbage bag, preparing for the final departure.

There were thirty or so safeboxes in the vault.

Each had its own security measures.

Eric, noting that he only had six seconds left, did the rash thing, and blasted one open.

He thrusted his fist at one, and it burst open, revealing its contents slightly squished, but otherwise fine.

They started grabbing bills as quickly as possible, loading them in.

Three seconds.

Fives, tens, twenties, and fifties alike were thrown into the bag.

Two seconds.

Eric pulled the bag shut, and hefted it over his shoulder.

One second.

Violet grabbed his hand, and straining once more, face red, she focused on appearing right outside of her seafoam green Monte Carlo.

And it worked.

They landed cleanly on the sidewalk.

They heard the alarm start to go off in the distance.

People were starting to come towards them, pouring out of the bank.

Eric did the one natural thing he could.

He took the money and flew into the air.

His takeoff was so fast that it created a downwind in excess of sixty mph for a few seconds, with Violet having to cover her face with arms crossed just to shield herself.

He took off quickly enough that no one noticed him.

And then the downwind ceased.

Violet quickly fell out of her angel form, exhausted.

" **Haah,"** she breathed out.

Taking a deep breath, she got into the backseat of the car.

She was sweaty and all sorts of tuckered out, unlike her partner, who, at the moment, was hovering multiple miles above Hawaii, in the upper atmosphere. His angel form's lungs were able to take the low oxygen levels, but for how long?

He had to last at least a minute while THE WORLD recharged.

Kaori and Kousei weren't really that surprised. Maybe a little, but nothing too unexpected.

"So why did he fly into the air?" Kaori asked.

"Presumably, to make sure we didn't get caught. And he recognized that I couldn't do it, since I was already strained from teleporting us so much." Violet's insight was invaluable, as it meant that Eric was watching them, even now.

That meant that Kousei could start driving away now.

It would only be another twenty seconds or so, but they needed to get out of this area, and quickly. The increased police presence was putting their freedom at risk as it was.

Kousei put the car in drive, and started rolling down the busy street.

By the time they were at a stop light, they noticed everything stop outside of the car.

"Well that's my Eric!" Violet cheered.

Her eyes were in the shape of stars.

"So cool!"

And then he landed in front of the car.

Somehow he had been able to ascend to his Origin form again.

And then Violet noticed why.

Violet was just seconds and feet away from an eighteen wheeler that had been careening towards her.

Eric looked at the car, and it started floating.

His spiritual powers were all immensely boosted by this form.

He was manipulating pressure waves around the car carefully, and remaining in complete control, the two couples, their things, and Violet's car all blasted off into the horizon.

Eric settled himself on top of the car, legs criss-crossed underneath him as he carefully flew them to somewhere more ideal, the bag of money still tightly gripped in his right hand.

And off they were.

 _And the Hawaii arc comes to a close._


	36. Bedroom Atmosphere

Chapter 36: Bedroom Atmosphere

The ocean underneath them was darkening the further they went, as the day dipped into evening.

Eric had been making sure to fly the car only a few hundred feet up, to keep everyone comfortable and well-oxygenated.

His Origin State wasn't as hard to maintain this time. Probably because of all the shit his body had been through by now had made him stronger.

They were moving quickly, at mach 3. The car was being protected by Eric's aura itself, which was reinforcing its internal and external structure.

They had been flying for about an hour, and it would be about another forty minutes before they'd reach land.

Eric stood up from his spot on top of the car, walking seamlessly on the air around the side of the car and downward while still propelling himself forward with the rest of the car.

His Origin state made this movement easy. He shuddered as he opened the left backseat door, awakening Violet, who had been laying on the right side.

He sat down.

And then he started talking.

"Okay. So the first order of business is getting you two," he said pointing at Kaori and Kousei, "home. The only way I can think of is to have you stay with us as we get ourselves established and then do this again. The flying car is surprisingly fast. I thought the drag was going to be more of an issue."

Kaori and Kousei thought on this for a moment.

Kousei's face scrunched up after a few seconds.

"Couldn't you guys just book a hotel room and then do it overnight?" Kousei interjected, making a solid point.

Eric looked at Violet, who was settling her head onto Eric's legs, laying back down.

She said only one thing before she fell back asleep, body still strained from the transformation; "That seems reasonab-"

And then she was out like a light.

She slept peacefully, despite the conversation that carried on while she slept, along with all of the noise generated by movement at mach 3.

" _Wow, she must be exhausted. Did the transformation or teleporting really put that much stress on her body?"_ Eric thought to himself.

While Eric was lost in thought, he was poked by Kousei.

"What?" he asked.

"Where do you two even want to live? Somewhere like New York City?" Kousei said.

Eric made a face. "No no no. We'd run out of money very quickly if we lived there. And we have about $500,000 by my estimate. So NYC is definitely out of the equation. Violet loves nature and animals, so we'd need somewhere better suited to that."

The bond on her side warmed up, as if she knew that he was acting in her best interests, even now.

She smiled in her sleep, content.

Kaori thought for a moment, a brief silence spreading over the car's occupants.

" _Eureka!"_ Kaori's mind lit up, an idea having been found.

"I've seen that the northern part of the US is pretty undeveloped and full of nature. Sure, it's a little cold, but that's the trade-off that's required, maybe? Surely there's one state up north you've wanted to visit? I saw Montana on a postcard a few months ago when we were in an international airport for the Nielsen competition. It was remarkably clean and beautiful. It would suit her nicely."

Eric took a few moments to absorb the information. He then pulled out his phone, and it showed their location, and nothing else. The gps satellite was pinging off his phone, and his phone was sending packets back in return.

He then noted the exact coordinates on google maps, writing them in on a digital memo.

He then put his phone down, shutting off the screen.

"And now we wait."

Eric was waiting to see which direction they were going. He knew that he was only going to get one shot at making it to a destination that far north before his body collapsed. He could feel a slight strain on his body, but that was because he had been controlling the outside of the car and the car's propulsion forward from the inside of it.

Eric, realizing this, got up, and climbed on top of the car once more.

He waited several minutes, the wind pushing its way around his body.

He then got his phone back out, and holding it very tightly, checked the coordinates again. Comparing the new ones to the ones in the digital memo, he found that they were moving south, towards Mexico.

Turning the car in a total of seventy-two degrees to the north, Eric corrected their course.

Except, his body wouldn't be able to hold out for the extra hour or so it would take to get there. Or at least not easily.

He needed to speed up the car while he still could, and have them ride the momentum until they got there. He could feel himself slowly weakening.

Slowly, but it was there.

"Increasing speed."

A vein bulged out in his forehead as they moved faster.

His blood pressure skyrocketed, and his heart rate increased significantly.

His body temperature started to go up.

He was overclocking his heart and body to rev up his Origin state to a point where he had immense control and still be moving faster.

He shoved his phone into a buttonable pocket and buttoned it.

The wind pushing past the car was howling in his ears. To be frank, it was only just annoying to Eric.

They were now sitting at around twice the speed they had been.

Mach 6.

Around 4,600 mph.

A truly bombastic speed.

Bombastic, because the occupants of the car were being slightly deafened by the roaring noise coming from outside.

But now Eric himself could relax slightly, and just focus on keeping the car in the air and moving straight.

He knew that at the end of the flight, he'd have to catch the car mid-fall and then get it moving very quickly. Because, in Eric's mind, the only suitable place to land would be a freeway far to the north, where few people would be threatened and they could actually see the ground, as the area would be bathed in light, as per state regulations.

And if he had to activate THE WORLD at the end of this stressful trip, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to hold onto the time-stop to make a difference.

This was a true test of his power's practical applications.

But that part would naturally have to wait. And now that Eric could relax, he started to meditate, focusing in on the altitude and direction of the car.

By the time that they were above land, everyone was stressed out from all of the noise. But none of them could wake Violet or get a hold of Eric on his phone.

He was stuck meditating, for now.

They were stuck this way, for now.

Kousei searched through Violet's things and found several pairs of sound-canceling earbuds.

They wouldn't help much, but they might help protect their ears from the deafening noise.

And so the two of them put the earbuds in, putting another pair in Violet's ears and protecting her while she slept.

The two fell asleep, before much time had passed.

And then the alarm Kousei had set for himself mentally snapped him awake.

His eyes opened, and he felt the strain on his body immediately.

" _Oh fuck. Time to land."_ He tried to not screw his eyes shut in pain, as waves of pins and needles wracked his body.

They descended quickly, Eric revving up his remaining power to the maximum extent that he still could.

He got up off of the roof of the car, getting underneath and bracing for impact.

He saw the almost airport-like streetlights, and aimed towards them.

He tensed up his legs as much as he could.

He roared; " _ **BRACE FOR IMPACT!"**_

And his legs nearly shattered as his shins took the brunt of the force taken on by his feet.

Two small craters formed where his feet had been smashed into the ground.

Miraculously, he'd managed to keep the car and all of its occupants safe, not even letting the car touch the road yet.

Meanwhile inside the car, everyone had been awoken by the massive thud at the end of the journey.

Not even by Eric's voice. That would of hardly been audible over the screaming wind.

And finally, Violet woke up.

The car was gently placed onto the ground.

And then Eric passed out, landing on the soft ground on the side of the road.

Violet rushed from the car, making sure he was alright. Gathering him up into her arms, she carried him back to the car.

The money sat in the middle of the backseat. That had to be fixed before someone came across them.

Otherwise they might be suspected of something suspicious.

But all that Violet could do was open up the bag, and take some of the money out. If they needed a hotel room for four people, it wasn't gonna be cheap.

And evening was quickly turning into night. It was going to get much colder very soon.

So Kousei got on the road, and he drove.

A sign after about two minutes had the words 'Frenchtown- 2 miles' on it.

That meant that they were close to a town or city, and Kaori pointed out the sign that her partner might have missed.

The town turned out to be too small to have a hotel or motel, but there had been a helpful gas station worker that had pointed them in the direction of a good hotel.

There were many hotels to choose from near a place called Grant Creek.

And that's where they were now, after about forty-five minutes of driving.

And Eric woke up to his head in Violet's lap.

He was being shaken gently.

"Eric, honey, it's time to wake up." Her voice brought him out of his lull.

The money that had been in between them was gone.

"Hey. Just for clarification, where'd you put the money?" he asked.

"In your suitcase." Violet answered, without hesitation.

"Okay. Good. Thank you," he replied, rubbing his eyes.

Kousei was pulling into a parking lot. A grandiose light display lit up a moderately large hotel.

Kaori had looked it up on her phone, and the place's website said it didn't require a reservation.

They all got out after he parked, and framed in light, they retrieved their belongings and went inside.

Eric was exhausted and irritable. So Violet did all the talking, so he wouldn't snap at any poor hotel staff.

They got to their rooms, and went their separate ways.

As soon as the door was closed, Eric pounced on Violet, pinning her to the bed.

He felt her get excited from her side of the connection.

"Are you ready?" he asked, sultry and amused.

"When haven't I been?" was her only response.

Today was their birthday.

They were the only presents that the other needed.

 _When a journey comes to a close_

 _A desperation forms_

 _We want to surge forward_

 _But the past is holding us in place_

 _All of the negatives must be in balance_

 _With everything positive_

 _For peace to be found with any sort of grace_

Life will move as it will.

Just like our characters.

Find out what happens next chapter.

Author's note: This chapter was super fun to write, so please review it!


	37. Awareness of the Temporary

Chapter 37: Awareness of the Temporary

The pines surrounded the three of them. They surrounded everything.

The pines in the distance looked grey despite the daylight. The wildlife was a welcome distraction for the musically inclined couple and Violet, who were spending the day hiking, and presumably swimming, if Kaori could _just find this damn lake…_

They'd decided on this lake in particular because the locals thought it would be a good experience for them. It was apparently more beautiful and clearer than any waters elsewhere.

The drive itself had been short to get to the trail that would lead them to the lake.

Kousei was more so looking forward to hiking. He felt out of shape. If Kaori and himself came back to Japan pudgy, they'd be opening themselves up to being judged openly and publicly.

It was a thing that had always annoyed Kousei.

" _Why does weight matter so much, anyway,"_ he thought, running side by side Kaori up a hill.

"WE NEED TO STAY FIT! AHHHHHH!"

They both shouted, leaving Violet in their dust for a moment before she started running.

"Hey," she said, her longer strides and larger lungs making it easy for her to catch up as she joined their side as they continued running up the hill, "wait for me."

She ended up outlasting both of them.

"Well, I am an athlete as well as a partially divine being now. I'm almost fourth-dimensional in nature when in my angel form. So I'm definitely going to have more stamina than normal humans like you two." Violet was clearly amused.

"Fuck… you… Violet…" Kousei whispered, exhausted.

Violet just chuckled, and offered her hand, helping him up.

"No thanks. I find Eric more than sufficient, thank you."

Kousei blushed, and asked the question we've all been thinking:

"Why isn't Eric here, again?"

There was a pause as Violet prepared to explain it yet again.

"Turns out, the Origin state destroys your body no matter how little or how much you use it. So he has to recover from that as well as all of the damage he took to his feet when he absorbed as much of the force as possible."

" _As possible, indeed,"_ the Origin thought.

As soon as Eric had said " _ **BRACE YOURSELVES!"**_ the Origin had decided to observe what was going on.

He saw three of his angels about to die.

For a stupid reason like Eric not understanding physics.

He'd gotten there just as Eric's feet hit the ground.

He stopped time.

"Yeah. Let's not do that."

He flicked each of the occupants of the car, stealing away their momentum and leaving them each at rest.

He took a glance at Eric.

"Yeah, he'll be fine."

He flashed away, letting go of time.

And that was how everyone survived.

Eric laid in the hotel bed that he and Violet had shared the night before.

The intensity of the last evening still echoed throughout his soul. He felt more confident.

He felt more complete.

Their connection was more fiery than ever.

More comprehensive.

He could see what she was thinking, if he wanted.

But at the moment, all that Eric Davidson wanted was to sleep.

So he wrapped himself in the duvet and, still exhausted, closed his eyes.

Back on the trail, the three were walking along. A man on a bicycle flew past them, back down the trail.

He almost hit Kaori.

" **HEY! Watch where you're going!"** Kousei yelled after him.

Kaori was mildly annoyed, but dusting herself off, she insisted that she was fine: "Come on, let's just keep…"

She had been looking down, and for some reason, the tire tracks from the bicyclist were red. The ground was slicked with blood.

Kaori took off, her feet flying, following the trail of blood.

Blood meant that something, somewhere, was dying. She couldn't hardly stand it.

And as she and the two others, who had taken off in pursuit of Kaori, rounded a corner in the trail, Kaori stopped.

She just...stopped.

Off to one side of the trail, there was a small animal, connected by a thick smear of blood to the bloody bicycle tracks.

Kaori stooped down, and looked closer. She could identify what the animal was now.

A rabbit, and a baby, at that.

She could also see the tire tracks in its fur, outlined in blood.

A baby rabbit, crushed.

And looking at the tracked blood, something didn't look right.

The bicyclist's tracks had been on the opposite before getting to the rabbit. That didn't make sense, unless the person swerved intentionally...

Kaori saw the rabbit shiver and twitch, and she heard the most terrible sound.

The death rattle.

The last breath of any animal.

The last, desperate attempt to inhale.

Kaori started to cry, as she backed up, right into Kousei's arms.

"Hey. Calm down. We're gonna be fine. You're alright." He whispered this in her ear.

It was a shame that Kaori didn't care. She just broke away from him and continued up the trail, towards a visible break in the trees.

She sat down on a boulder, and flustered beyond belief, pulled a book out of her ever present handbag.

Kousei and Violet caught up.

"Hey! Time to swim!" Violet yelled, excited.

" _What does she mean? I don't see…"_ Kaori thought as she looked up, seeing the water.

Well, she didn't see the water right away. She saw the bottom of the lake first.

Violet, a few feet away, started to disrobe.

She had her shirt halfway off before Kousei turned red and scampered away.

"I'm going on a hike! Don't worry about me!"

A now-nude Violet now turned to Kaori.

"I wonder what his problem is?"

Kaori couldn't help but gawk in disbelief at the sheer muscle definition.

Eric definitely had had a wild ride the night before.

Kaori could see the muscles rippling in Violet's legs.

" _Holy fuck…"_ All that Kaori could do was blink.

And Violet was in the water.

"Holy heck that's cold!" she yelled.

Kaori couldn't stop staring as Violet frolicked in the water.

" _Why am I so...hot right now?"_ she felt her face: " _Am I blushing?!"_

She tore her face away. " _Just keep reading, Kaori. Ignore her. Ignore her toned-ass body."_

She buried herself in her book, and that was the end of it.

Her book was "How to lose those last five pounds, by Dr. Markle."

And she found it helpful in her daily struggle against weight gain.

'" _One meal a day is sufficient, no,_ _ **favored**_ _, in such circumstances."'_

" _Wow, he's so wise." Kaori thought._

He wasn't wise at all.

He was preying on the women who think they're not good enough.

And of course Kousei knew something was wrong, but by now, he was two miles away, nearing the mountain's peak.

So he just shrugged it off, and he walked into the dampness of the surrounding mist.

The steam in the bathroom was warm on Eric's skin.

The bath was done being drawn, its temperature ideal, its volume perfect.

He lowered himself in as slowly as possible, trying to avoid bumping his legs on anything.

It had hurt getting himself to the bathroom.

He'd steadied himself on the wall with one hand while carrying his phone with the other.

Eric almost dropped his phone in the bath, having been distracted by an alert from something.

14 missed messages: Vi (heart emoji)

" _Fuck."_

He put his phone down.

And he smacked his head on the tub as he tried to move.

And a vision consumed his sight and thoughts.

Eric was walking alongside a paved road, passing through a shopping plaza.

He passed over a puddle for a moment, and his reflection revealed that he was someone else; a person whose eyes were dark with shadows.

Eric was suddenly seeing this scene from below, inside the puddle.

The young man walked away, as Eric was trapped inside the reflection. Pounding against an invisible barrier.

Eric screamed within the confines of his own mind.

And then he woke up.

" _ **Haah,"**_ he gasped out, his vision returned.

"FUCK!"

He sat his head up against the back of the tub.

(Back with Violet and the others)

"I just told you Kousei. Eric hasn't answered me yet, so I don't know what he wants to eat! Jeez you can be so dense…" Violet was clearly annoyed.

Her hair was wet, she wasn't with Eric, and Eric wouldn't answer her messages.

She'd also been relatively rattled by the rabbit.

It had reminded her of something.

Everything dies.

Eric would die someday, too.

And likely? He'd probably die before she did.

That thought made her feel lonely for a moment.

But as she drove, she felt a buzz in her back pocket (the only one that was real in these shorts) that told her that Eric had finally gotten back to her.

And she pulled into the McDonalds after checking her phone.

"Hon. McD's will do. Sorry. I was sleeping. You really wore me out last night (winky face)."

Violet had blushed at that.

Pulling into a parking spot, she tried to remember his order.

" _What does he like from here? Um...oh yeah. The McChicken. No lettuce."_ she thought to herself.

And that was all she needed to know.

And all that Eric knew when he woke up was that the shower was running and that there was a beautiful smell in the air.

In the shower, Violet was questioning her beauty itself.

" _I'm not pretty. My feet are huge. My toes are too long. My hands are hairy. My arms are hairy. No matter how much I shave my legs, they're covered in stubble. WHY CAN'T I JUST BE BEAUTIFUL!"_

Violet slid down the side of the shower.

Broken, she sat under the water as it cascaded over her head and neck.

She picked at her scar like she usually did in the shower. She drew blood, skin catching underneath her fingernails. She winced, before mentally screaming:

" _WHY AM I LIKE THIS?! HOW DO YOU EVEN LOVE ME?!"_

She couldn't tell what was a tear and what was the water splashing onto her face from the showerhead.

But Violet just sat there.

And she would for another half an hour.

She scrutinized every inch of her body.

When she got out, every spot she could reach aside from her face was covered in scratch marks.

She waited until they faded slightly before exiting the bathroom.

By that time, Eric was already asleep again.

She just made herself the small spoon and cried, curling herself up against him.

She only felt slightly less ugly, laying there with him.

 _A disconnect between body and mind_

 _Dysphoria at what can be seen with the eyes_

 _She hates her own beautiful smile_

 _What once made her life worthwhile is_

 _Slowly becoming empty;_

 _Like her stomach, starved and small._

 _He is unaware._

 _He is unaware._


	38. Gradient of Deviancy

Chapter 38: Gradient of Deviancy

 _The length of a school corridor had stood between Violet and Eric, once. Violet was at her locker._

 _A young man approached her from the side. She was a freshman. And he was a larger guy who played football. A senior._

"Hey there," he said, putting his arm out in front of her, "I heard that you're free this weekend. Wanna come to the party I'm hosting at my house this Saturday night. Gonna be wild. And I want someone to be wild with."

Violet had flinched when he had invaded her personal space.

"Um. I don't really know you that well. And I'm not sure my brother would like it if I missed our daily meal together. So I'll pass. Sorry."

She looked away hastily. Embarrassed, cheeks burning with a blush.

The boy, Thomas, thought to himself; " _Did she just turn me down? Is she a little kid or something? Wait. How old is she?"_

Thomas backed away slightly, the wide grin dissipating off his face.

"That's alright, I guess. How old are you, anyway?"

"Well, I'm a freshman."

Tom's eyes widened. His face crinkled into a grimace.

"Oh. Okay. Well…"

He barely managed to say that much before he made himself walk away.

 _Thomas had been the kindest of Violet's suitors. By far._

The next had stalked her.

As in, from a tag on her backpack that she'd left alone when she went to get lunch in the cafeteria, he'd figured out her address, full first and last names, and her phone number.

And with that information, he'd wreaked havoc on her life.

He'd once gotten into a fight with Eric when Eric saw him pinning her to her locker and looming over her.

"So like I said, Violet, you're gonna come with me to my house after school. Today." he said, pushing into her ribcage with enough force to make her buckle forwards.

Eric happened to turn his head from up the hall.

He must have been seeing things, because it almost looked like someone was hurting Violet.

He looked away, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.

"Well, I really appreciate your interest in me, but the way you show that appreciation makes me _really_ uncomfortable. So I'd rather not."

Violet said, removing his arm from her chest.

The boy, being two years older than her, moved, but not much.

He seethed internally and externally.

He smacked her across the face.

Eric saw this with incredible clarity.

He screamed at this… piece of trash.

" **Hey! You! What the** _ **fuck**_ **do you think you're doing!"**

His voice seemed to rattle the air, pushing people out of the way as he sprinted towards the boy and Violet.

It only took him four seconds to reach the boy.

From one hundred feet away.

If someone would have been able to see his eyes, they would have seen a brilliant golden sheen.

And despite the older boy having an advantage in weight and overall body size, that didn't stop Eric from breaking two knuckles on his face and slamming him into the wall across the hallway.

This same hallway would later be the main stomping ground for a young man and woman that just loved making fun of other people.

They relished in anguished expressions and tearful looks.

They especially enjoyed picking on a sophomore girl named Violet.

She had a scar across her neck. It was new.

And by they, the girl relished in harassing the poor girl.

Violet was prettier, after all. And that wasn't allowed.

The young man, however, did get a kick out of making Violet squeal. He was a sexual sadist, but he understood that he couldn't actually harm Violet. But he could make her feel very uncomfortable and _probably_ still get away with it.

"Well something has clearly been inside your neck already, scar-girl. So why not a second?"

His smile was sinister as he stood in between Violet and Eric's line of sight.

She only backed up slightly… right into the other half of the duo.

"Where are you going, freak? Aren't you going to say yes? You should be flattered that a boy like him would even be interested in you, as disfigured as you are."

The young man moved forward as the girl pushed Violet into him.

He grabbed the back of her head by her hair.

" _Don't_ resist me. If you say or do anything they'll never be able to replace what I take from you."

He pulled her in, with her wincing at her hair being pulled.

And a piece of human garbage stole Violet Davidson's first kiss.

There was someone walking by, towards Eric's locker.

They saw what was happening to Violet. But they did nothing.

Until they reached Eric's locker, that is.

They sort of leaned over, and nudged him.

"Yo. What's up?" Eric asked.

The person just sort of pointed in the general direction of the incident.

Which by then had resulted in Violet sucker punching the guy and running toward Eric.

The guy had almost caught up with her.

But Eric had moved to put her behind him in time.

"Um? Excuse me?" Eric stated, being aware of Violet's extreme discomfort by the tears that he could feel on the back of his shoulder as she hid from the boy.

"Oh. I just need to talk to her for a second. I'm her boyfriend, you see."

The boy said, trying to get Eric to move.

He didn't know who Eric was.

"Well really now? I didn't know my _**twin sister**_ had a boyfriend. Especially one that she'd run away from _**crying**_." Eric's eyes were stony, while the rest of his face stayed amused.

The other boy's face went pale, and he turned tail and ran.

But the words that he'd said after he'd kissed her rang and echoed through Violet's mind.

" _No one wants you. No one wants a freak. Especially one that's bad at kissing. But I guess that makes sense, since prostitutes aren't allowed to kiss their clients."_

Eric had turned to her and asked; " _Hey. What did he do to you? Why are you crying?"_

" **He forced himself on me and I just barely got away."**

Eric opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

And then Violet was aware of something.

" _I'm dreaming."_

As the landscape around her became more hellish, she desperately tried to open her eyes.

But Eric had said one thing that shocked her awake even now; " _That's okay. He'll be dead soon anyway."_

And Eric was right there. The bond that connected them ever so intimately was pointing that out to her mind.

It was like it was saying, " _Hey. That lump under those blankets is the person that you want to have kids with. Calm yourself. You're fine."_

And he knew that she was awake, reaching over, and putting his hand over her heart.

He felt her heart rate and immediately pulled her in.

Her bare back was against his chest, and Violet did start to calm down.

He wasn't very hairy, she noticed for the hundredth time. But she preferred that, honestly. She liked being able to feel his skin, and how warm it was.

Like a hot-water bottle, Eric lulled Violet into a more comfortable physical and mental state of mind.

And she slept, this time dreamlessly.

Mercifully without nightmares, too.

An older man of about 30, with curly blonde hair had received news from his sister.

" _Tucker. Your niece and nephew are nearby. Find them, and make sure they stay out of trouble."_

Tucker Edwin merely rolled his eyes.

He'd learned to expect the unexpected, being an archaeologist.

"Alright, Meri. Do you know where they're staying specifically?"

" _No. The tracker on my suitcase isn't that specific."_

"Okay. Is that all?" Tucker asked.

" _...yes. Love you, Tuck. Talk to ya later."_

"Love you too."

He ended the call first, sitting his cell on his cluttered desk.

"I thought I was finally alone with my work, and now this happens." He was annoyed.

"But whatever. It's not like they aren't my own flesh and blood."

He pushed his phone off to the side of his desk, getting back to work; which was primarily cataloging bones for transport.

He worked on neolithic skeletons. Old human skeletons, basically. And that was all he needed to keep himself occupied for days at a time, was a new find.

He had been lonely for a long time.

He just didn't care.


	39. Days Gone By: The Edwins

Chapter 39: Days Gone By: The Edwins

 _Their eyes had always held a certain intensity._

 _Even now, through his exhaustion, the younger Edwin sibling's stare should have ripped holes in the ground._

Tucker stood over the man who he'd been hunting. He slammed his foot onto the man's head.

It cracked with a sickening crunch.

The mans dark hair glistened with blood.

"Damn you took forever to catch, huh?" he asked the already-unconscious man as he ground his boot into his face.

They had ended up miles from the man's home, deep into the forest of the surrounding area.

The trees rustled quietly as Tucker received no answer.

The area they'd ended up at was dark and shady, underneath the tall deciduous trees.

" _Birch, maybe?"_ Tucker thought. He felt the texture of the wood under his hand.

It was like paper.

"Definitely Birch."

He looked back down at the man. He didn't like killing. He just hated the people more.

He sighed. "Time to rid myself of the evidence."

He took a small pouch out of his pocket. An ash-cloth. He'd use it to start the fire without an accelerant.

He had two rules.

One. Make it look natural, or don't hunt at all.

Two. If they don't disappear, you didn't do a good enough job.

He stepped off the knocked-out man.

Crouching down while taking the ash-cloth out, Tucker found what he had been looking for.

A cavity in the side of a tree.

He would start the fire there.

The tree would then fall over, spreading the fire to the surrounding area.

And that is exactly what happened.

But no one saw him do it.

What did the man do, you ask? He was the leader of a criminal ring that specialized in the sale and exploitation of children.

Tucker Edwin was a special kind of serial killer.

Because he only killed a special kind of person.

Child predators.

His 1969 Boss Mustang revved to life, the systems coming online.

The interior of the car was outfitted with luxury materials, and the dashboard console was high-tech, being constantly updated by his sponsors.

It could hook up to the internet via a bluetooth connection to his phone, which was used as a hotspot.

This car was special, outfitted with an expanded trunk for gas and weaponry storage.

Tucker Edwin was a man with many sponsors.

He made deals that relied on trust.

He hadn't been betrayed yet.

Not when his clients paid him to hunt down genuinely terrible people.

And they didn't even pay him specifically.

They funded his missions regardless. That, however, did not stop him from letting himself take certain cases personally.

Occasionally, one of the victims of these people would look like his niece or nephew.

 _It could be them. It could always be them._

He was always doting on his sister's children.

There was no one in his life to spend his money on.

His expeditions were fully funded by his sponsors. Sometimes he even flew first-class when targeting international syndicates.

Those hunts were often few and far between. So he would usually drive to the places himself, taking sometimes weeks off from work for a successful hit.

He would study the surrounding areas to prevent escape.

If the hit was to take place in a neighborhood, he'd scope that neighborhood out beforehand, making sure to note where police presence and cameras were located.

He had killed more than 40 people. Not the most prolific killer, but very prolific when looking at him as a vigilante.

As the fire grew into a massive blaze behind him, Tucker drove off into the darkening skyline, lights off, engine extremely muffled.

That was the second major adjustment to the car. The engine was in an acoustically controlled environment, which made the car much harder to hear as he tried to make his escape.

Tucker Edwin smiled into the rear-view mirror.

Another job well done.

The younger of the Edwin siblings hadn't always been so content or satisfied with himself, however. The memories he'd suppressed certainly confirmed that.

The two had grown up in rural Montana.

Like Meredith's children would be after her, she was bullied relentlessly as a child.

Tucker was as well, if not to the same extent as his sister.

He was shoved into lockers, made to look and sound weird by the jock-types in his classes as they tried to seem superior to him. Teachers called him slow because he was quiet.

Even the choir hated him, despite his more than three octave vocal range.

The choir wasn't kind to his sister. In particular, the assistant director and her favorites would try to put her in the wrong as much as possible.

The first boy to hurt Meredith Edwin had no action taken against him, as Meredith didn't tell.

She was too afraid that she'd end up pinned to the wall again, with Michael's hand down her blouse just like last time.

Michael Brown was a junior, two years older than her.

Her intense eyes had done nothing but enhance the experience for him.

He enjoyed the fact that she struggled.

He enjoyed more that he could overpower her so easily.

And Meredith didn't want that to happen anymore.

She quit choir in her freshman year.

That didn't stop them from visiting their cruelties upon Meredith.

Tucker was only six months younger than Meredith. He had been adopted, and had been enrolled in the grade underneath his sister.

When Tucker's first day of high school came along, he received several warnings from older students for "hanging around with that Edwin _bitch_ during lunch." He ignored them as much as he could, but he wondered why the older kids viewed his sister that way.

When approached about it when they got home the same day, Meredith effortlessly skirted the subject, diverting Tucker's attention as easily as he'd gained hers.

She'd gotten increasingly good at conversing with others.

Her social skills had improved, she'd started hanging around more young adults, and finally, she'd gotten a boyfriend.

But this relationship was anything but consensual.

She hated him.

The reason Tucker would grow up and hunt child predators was that his sister was victim to one.

Their parents never found out.

But that man was Tucker's first kill.

He'd used his hands for that one. His training had taken three years.

For three years, he alternated workouts.

One day, he'd do his powerlifting in the afternoon.

The next morning, he'd run ten kilometers.

There would be a rest day in between, and the process would resume.

Strangulation is uncomfortable for both parties involved, believe it or not.

Tucker's grip strength had been tested, for sure.

He had to look away while the molester ran out of air, and he didn't know when it was safe to look back so that they wouldn't make eye contact.

At the end of that day, Tucker had almost burned down an entire housing development, using his skills from his electronics class to start a house fire in the exact correct spot the circuit would short itself out.

It was assumed that the fire was an accident, and the man that had raped Meredith for more than a year and a half died, alone and ravaged by flames.

Tucker had made sure to absolutely pulverize the man's personal computer.

Nothing could remain. Not a single tape or floppy disc.

He felt sick only as he drove away, the reality and gravity of his actions only offset by the vengeance he had enacted.

 _Vengeance is full of hate_

 _Hate can never seem to wait_

 _The gravity of crime can never be seen_

 _Until nothing is as it seems_

 _Nothing will unveil itself_

 _Until some part of the soul is in poor health_

 _And nothing seems right anymore._

 _Death and fury will follow._

Author's note: I apologize for the shortness of these chapters.

This arc is a sort of long, drawn-out transition that is very difficult to write.

So with great happiness I can announce that this wonderful little part of my life will extend past November and into the future.

Please continue to review.

Until next time, this is MeridianPine, signing off!


	40. In the Midst

Chapter 40: In the Midst

Along a path the twins walked.

The tiles of the path were engraved with the graceful lines of a master stonemason.

Up ahead is an archway.

Hand in hand, how they usually did things.

They'd been attached at the hip for six years, basically.

They were finally eighteen. And free to do as they pleased.

Everything was perfect.

The greens of the plants, the greys of the stone bricks, the blues of the sky.

All were perfect shades of color.

Eric felt tender-hearted and grateful.

He didn't even have to look at her to tell that it was Violet. Their connection was as warm and intense as it usually was.

It might not have been perfect or been fluctuating as it normally did, but that was fine.

" _I guess sometimes we just sync up better than other times."_ Eric thought.

Her hand was slightly sweaty as he moved his fingers about, uncomfortable in the slightly moist grip.

He looked over at her. "Are you nervous about something? Your hand is clammy."

Violet didn't answer.

They simply kept walking.

Eric felt slight unease. Their bond still felt the same. Unmoving. Still.

" _Did she not hear me? Or am I being ignored?"_

Eric thought, undeniably jilted. His face got a little red.

The bond still didn't react to his discomfort, and neither did she.

He looked over at her, and was immediately filled with confusion.

Her hair was short, and cropped in such a way that her face was obscured from his point of view. " _That's...odd. I don't remember her getting a haircut."_

He had been looking at her for a few moments in a row when she turned her head to face him.

Her blue eyes stared back at him, almost like aquamarine.

"Eric? Is something wrong?" She asked, as they continued onward, towards the archway.

"No. Not really," Eric said, still feeling unease over something. His gut wasn't usually wrong about things like this.

His eyes followed the increasingly intense patterns in the stone as they moved along.

It was getting too complex for his eyes to understand.

There was no further comment until they passed through the archway a minute later.

"You've been very quiet. Usually, you're rather boisterous. There has to be something wrong with you." Violet said, staring intently at Eric.

They reached a bench, and Eric walked over and sat down. Violet quickly followed suit, and there was quiet for a time.

Eric was about to say 'I love you' when Violet said something that made the hairs on his neck stand up.

"Why would you say you love me when I obviously already know that?" she asked, sitting on her hands, her light blue eyes sticking out as her open expression brought light into them.

They stood out so much so that Eric didn't even have to process what Violet had said to know something terrifying.

This wasn't Violet.

Violet's eyes weren't light blue.

They were brown.

" _That can't be…"_ he thought.

The doppelganger continued to act exactly like Violet.

"You know, Eric, you almost seem nervous about something. I wonder what that could be?"

She, whoever she was, leant in towards him, putting a hand on his chest.

"Why don't you kiss me and I'll help that nervousness **disappear."** Those eyes were growing ever more wild.

"No! You aren't her…are you?" Eric said, afraid.

The expression on the imposter's face grew more malign.

"I can be anyone you want me to be. But unfortunately, here in a world of nightmares, I reign supreme. I'm your insecurity. Hello."

Eric felt his eyelids, and after one unsettling image of Violet with light blue eyes, he was able to open them.

A nightmare, indeed.

Eric looked over at his alarm clock.

"Annnnd… four in the morning. Great." he said, laying back over.

He saw the dark outline of Violet's back in the darkness of the hotel room.

Their room's theme and color scheme was based around blues of every shade.

It was honestly obnoxious, but at least he couldn't see it in the dark.

Something flashed across his field of view.

A pair of light blue eyes.

He felt it. His insecurity.

Why was she a Violet look alike?

It didn't matter, he decided, getting a little freaked out.

Eric started to shake and shiver.

He could still feel the imposter staring at him, even though he was still awake.

Perhaps the dream spoke to some hidden insecurity about Violet not being who he thought she was, but that was aside the point.

He was awake.

She was real. He could enter her mind and see her dreams if he so desired.

And he could feel through their bond that she was dreaming. It made him want to go back to sleep.

Their bond was fluctuating. Like it should be.

This was real.

And he felt her stirring somewhat, until she was in a state in between sleep and wakefulness.

Eric continued his self-assurances.

"The imposter never existed outside of my mind." Eric whispered.

"Will you ever go back to sleep? Are you not alright? Do I need to wake up?" Violet mumbled through the half-awake state, placing a hand on his thigh.

Eric moved over under the sheets, pressing himself against her back, making her the little spoon, starting a rather pleasant cuddle.

She smiled through her sleepy state.

"I love you, you know that?" Violet said, still only half-awake.

Eric smirked.

"Wouldn't have believed you if you'd said otherwise, Vi."

After a few minutes, Eric and Violet both fell into a lull.

Sleep came easier this time.

For the other couple, Kaori and Kousei were busy talking to someone that happened to contact them late at night.

A...Tsubaki?

"Tsubaki, it's late, what could you possibly want?" Kousei had grumbled, annoyed. She hadn't tried to talk to either of them since before they'd left for Denmark.

Her and Watari hadn't worked out after high school separated them.

He'd gotten married.

His child had just been born.

"He named us godparents. The guardians in case his child is ever without parents of his own."

Kaori had been pleased to hear from Tsubaki. So much so that they'd been on the phone for three hours and it was driving Kousei crazy.

"Kaori...bed...please," he whimpered, curling up into a ball.

His head was killing him. He wanted to sleep. He took his situation for granted in every way he possibly could have.

Eric, on the other hand, was busy falling asleep. Grateful, and even without checking them, Eric knew Violet's eyes were still brown.

Even though he knew that his insecurities were still there, Eric also knew that Violet was there too.

And she was all he needed. Just like always.

 _Odd dreams circulate_

 _Unease will spread_

 _Like a musician would articulate_

 _A feeling of dread._

 _Sometimes the things that are scariest_

 _Are in the smallest details._

 _And the things that make us the happiest_

 _Can be the same things_

 _Just in reverse._

 _Author's note: If you're wondering why I haven't moved on to the next arc yet, it's because it is just one big transition._

 _To any aspiring writers that might read this, do it._

 _You won't regret putting yourself out there._

 _Or you might._

 _But you will definitely regret not putting yourself out there at all._

 _Take it from me. This almost didn't exist._

 _So, until next time, find your muse._


	41. Found

Chapter 41: Found

A grey sports car pulled through a spot in the hotel parking lot.

Two young men inside were jogging on adjacent treadmills. The gym was puny and claustrophobia-inducing. Its light-colored walls were configured in a rectangular shape.

Kousei and Eric ran. And ran. And continued running.

Both were adequately in shape.

Obviously, Eric was in the best shape he ever would be.

And Kousei had to be in shape so he wouldn't be judged by the majority of his country.

But unlike Eric, Kousei was getting tired. Eric hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

"Your physical abilities are totally unfair." Kousei said, wheezing after twenty five minutes of high intensity sprints.

Eric turned around, still running faster than Kousei; "What is this unfairness I'm hearing of?"

Outside, a man of middling height got out of his 1969 Boss Mustang.

His curly hair fluttered in the early morning breeze as he framed the doorway of his car.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, stressed.

"I hope my informants were right. Jeez."

Tucker's voice echoed throughout the empty parking lot.

He straightened out his back and strode towards the building. He noticed something about his own stride.

" _Why am I limping?"_

He wouldn't figure out why in time. But it wouldn't make a difference anyway. It would be healed before he even noticed it again.

Tucker's own addiction problems would dull his mind to a point where he wouldn't be so depressed anymore.

And then he wouldn't notice his limp.

When he was hunting, Tucker stayed off the alcohol. It was his largest vice.

Just something to take the edge off, really.

He wasn't on any at the moment, and his willpower was fading.

" _That building is awfully tall,"_ Tucker thought, looking up at the hotel.

He thought back to his first attempt. His father had found him on the sidewalk underneath his bedroom window.

Tucker had made up some fake story about falling out of his window, which his dad had bought.

But Meredith and their mother hadn't bought it for a second.

And right around the time he started therapy, Meredith was assaulted for the first time.

The therapy didn't work, in the long run. It just made it easier to hide the pain and anger.

Looking up at this tall building, Tucker was reminded of the view of his bedroom window.

It would be so easy to let them find him, instead of the other way around.

A splatter in the parking lot of that size is hard to miss, after all.

He shook his head, trying desperately to clear the tears from his eyes.

" _Or…"_ he thought, looking up a seafoam green Monte Carlo twenty feet away from him, " _I could go inside."_

Eric and Kousei were slowly increasing their paces on the treadmills, continuously speeding up.

" _Come on, I can do this,"_ Kousei thought.

It was getting difficult for him to breathe.

Eric was having no problems with the acceleration.

When the door to the gym opened, neither of them noticed the man that entered.

A clear bead of sweat fell from Eric's forehead before he noticed something was off.

Before the droplet even hit the ground, Eric phased to the side, avoiding a blow dart that had been sent in his direction.

It was so slow for him that he reached out and grabbed it out of the air.

His body twisted mid-air, his foot kicking at the ceiling, propelling him towards the origin of the dart.

His foot slamming the ceiling of the gym shook the whole building.

He landed behind the man with a gust of wind.

He turned around, his body shifting into his angel state.

"...oh. Uncle Tuck?"

"..." the man was stunned.

"Yes. And you seem to be a little faster then I remember. I think your mother might have left a few things out when she told me to take you guys in."

Kousei had fallen off his treadmill as soon as Eric had moved.

"...oof. Why?"

He rubbed his head and eyes as he got back up, unbunching his running shorts.

The man whose back Kousei was staring at had curly brown hair, and average height and build.

Kousei was certainly taller. But not as broad.

"Kousei. I have someone for you to meet. Remember when Vi and I told you about whose room you were staying in? Our favorite uncle?" Eric was visibly excited.

Tucker turned around.

His brown eyes sparked for a moment as he glanced around the room.

"Hello there."

Author's note: Yikes this took so long.

I'm sorry. Life has recently become a little less colorful. So my muse has been stagnant and it has been less and less appealing to write.

This is an attempt to overcome that problem. Plz no flames at my long absence.


	42. The Answer

Welcome back to Scars in the Mirror.

Where we left off, the infamous Uncle Tucker finally appeared.

But of course, that is a story best told another time.

What is important is that we know how things end. Where they get to.

I can tell you this much.

Violet and Eric are alive and well, don't get me wrong. And we will get back to them. But I think that it's long overdue that we focus on two people.

Kaori and Kousei.

So without further ado, I present the second-to-last arc in this fanfiction.

The Sky

Chapter One: The Answer

The steps leading to their front porch were as worn as ever.

And it was still a little hard on Kaori's legs to climb them.

The place was simple. That was all they could have afforded, with the way the housing market was.

They were home.

Or at least, Kousei was. Kaori was still climbing the steps.

Kousei breathed in as he opened the front door.

The wind brushed past him, flowing softly into their modest abode.

Holding the door open for Kaori, his hair whipping around from the storm that was to be starting soon, he zipped up his windbreaker the rest of the way.

"Kaori, get inside. I'll get the luggage out of the rental." His voice was firm, but his intentions were kind.

Kaori's inner thoughts were jumbled. The plane ride hadn't done her any favors mentally, and she wasn't feeling 100%.

"Hon, you don't need to hold the door," she said, finally reaching the porch, out of breath.

Internally, Kaori was chastising herself over and over again for being too slow, too weak.

" _How is my will so weak when I'm connected to someone so strong?"_

She hid her thoughts from him about half of the time, now. She had to. Whenever they left their connection wide-open, her depressed thoughts would scare him, the love of her life.

"We've been over this, Kaori. I hold the door because you deserve a gentleman," He said, watching her cross the threshold. Her hair had become more slack than usual.

It was almost like they were fourteen again.

"And I've told you, I've got it. I appreciate the gesture, Kousei," she stated, stopping at the mouth of the hallway, "I really do. I'm sorry. I'm in a terrible mood right now. My body doesn't like me too much right now, so I'm going to lay down."

And that was that, with Kaori disappearing from his frame of view.

aaaaaaAaaaaaa

Kousei missed the early days of their relationship.

The days where they'd go out and be spontaneous.

When they couldn't see each other often, it was almost more special.

But now that their days were filled with one another, it was almost like something had faded from their relationship.

And Kousei Arima really missed that.

Even as he played, once again, the Chopin ballade that he'd once played at fourteen, he felt something strange inside of him. Pain, resonating from his chest.

Something was wrong with Kaori.

He slammed the piano shut, his eyes widening, in panic.

He rushed out of the room.

aaaaaaAaaaaaa

It was odd, looking at her own blood.

" _Wasn't I just making lunch?"_ she said, looking around at her surroundings.

She'd been cutting fish with one of the sushi knives her father had bought her as a Christmas present.

She noticed that she was on the ground.

"How...did I get here?" Her voice sounded foreign to her.

Reaching up to the throbbing pain in her head, she pulled away a palm full of blood.

There was blood in her hair and on the counter, from the looks of it, as she looked up at the place where she'd just been preparing their dinner.

She heard the piano lid slam, and the sound of rushing footsteps.

His mind broke into their bond, figuring out where she was from tapping into her optic nerve.

And Kaori passed out from the blood loss.

After all, she did have a knife lodged in her abdomen.

Kousei reached her in seconds, his eyes aglow with a light sprinkling of grey.

He was wasting no movement, and with one movement, he ripped a hand towel in half and created a wrap for her head wound, which he could hardly stand to look at.

It was bad, and Kousei could tell from the gnawing feeling on his heart.

And something unexpected; his eyes flashed, and his phone, which he'd forgotten on the piano, was in his hand.

He dialed.

"Hello. Where is your emergency?"

The conversation with emergency personnel went quickly, only lasting two minutes.

And help was on its way in less than a minute after that.

He knew better than to touch the knife. She'd go septic in seconds if it were removed, with that much bacteria flooding her system.

The wait was an unbearable four minutes and twenty-four seconds. He counted, as the only way for him to not immediately go into shock was to distract himself.

He heard the sirens blaring outside, and heard them rush through the door.

She was unconscious and bleeding, and as the paramedics shoved him aside, he almost cracked.

One of them, while picking her up, lost his grip on her upper body because of all of the blood. Her skull hit the floor.

All Kousei could feel was pain.

He heard a crunch, and he collapsed.

aaaaaaAaaaaaa

When Kousei woke up, he was in a low-priority bed, in a low-priority room, in the least important ward.

He had a splitting headache and his chest burned, but otherwise you couldn't have known he wasn't feeling well.

Aside from the bright sheen of sweat, which covered his skin and made his hair not want to cooperate when he ran his hands through it absent-mindedly.

He was soon to learn that his partner was in surgery to close her head up.

The pain in his chest wasn't really there. It was her pain, being reflected onto him like a mirror.

She was in operating theater number six.

Only two floors and a short jog away.

Or at least that's what the nurse had said before he fled the room at top speed.

He hadn't had anything done to him yet, so he still had his own clothes. He rammed past the nurse, and quickly found himself face-to-face with security.

However, the man couldn't touch Kousei. He just flowed out of the way.

Kousei was bigger and faster, and avoided the man with ease.

It was almost like Kousei phased through him, an afterimage of his appearance distracting the security guard for a few seconds.

That was enough for Kousei to get away.

He made it to the elevator, and slipped inside.

Pressing the button that corresponded to the Surgery ward, Kousei avoided eye contact with anyone in the elevator.

aaaaaaAaaaaaa

When Kaori came out of the operating theatre, her head was shaved a little. About a third of her hair, right above her right ear, was removed. The rest of it had been washed thoroughly, to get all of the blood out of it.

Her gown was uncomfortably big on her.

Her clothes were folded neatly. At least the ones that didn't have a puncture hole going through them.

Her shirt was shot, and her pants were covered in blood.

When Kousei was finally allowed into her room, she was still unconscious.

"How is she?" he asked her attending doctor and nurse.

"You must be her fiancé. Kousei, yes?" the doctor looked uncomfortable.

Especially when Kousei didn't answer him.

"How. Is. She." His eyes were violent and angry.

The doctor swallowed, before nodding his head assuredly and smiling.

"The results of the surgery were great. She should be fine in a few weeks, with proper recovery protocol."

Kaori opened her eyes.

aaaaaaAaaaaaa

 _Answers are often better found_

 _When someone is almost in the ground_

 _Eyes grey are borne in_

 _A partner whose heart is torn_

 _Connections mean nothing to_

 _Pain and death_

 _Gnawing on his every breath_

 _Answers are real._

 _Answers are terrible._

 _Answers might just scare you._

Author's Note: So it's only been a month. Only a month, so don't kill me.


	43. Scars

Scars In The Mirror: Chapter 43

Chapter 2 of The Sky: Scars

Her stay in the hospital was too short for Kousei.

The sterility of the clean-room she'd been staying in post-operatively was perfect. She was in a contained environment.

When Kousei was told a week later that they were considering releasing her to home care, he almost attacked the attending.

With how deep her stomach wound was, she needed the clean-room, otherwise her weakened immune system would crumble like a dry piece of konbo.

He'd been fine after the initial shock kicked out.

Kousei had done this before, of course. Kaori wasn't the healthiest young lady.

Kousei was reminded of just that as he sat by their bed. She'd been discharged. They'd needed her bed for someone else. The equipment was all there, and there was a nurse staying with them at all times. Kaori wasn't entirely stable. Not yet. She had done a number on herself with that fall.

He had been by her side all day. She wasn't too happy whenever she was conscious, and they didn't say much, but he was there.

"Hon, I'm gonna go take a bath. I'll be back," he said, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

She stirred slightly, pretending to be asleep. Kousei knew better. She was just in a lot of residual pain, and didn't want him to see that.

He could tell that she was reading something by the time he slipped into the tub. He didn't know what the book was about without tapping into her mind directly.

Weeks later, he would regret not paying closer attention. After all, the signs were there. But this story needs telling.

The book was on how to diet more effectively.

She was always trying to figure out how to appear more slender.

It was what was _in_ in Japan. It was always the _in_ thing.

If he only knew how dangerous her attitude towards her own body was.

He was warned, as well, by an expert in her own right.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The most prominent and notable of her nurses was an older woman, one who was a wonderful mother and grandmother.

She had had a very successful career, having served the public for over thirty years.

She was also overweight.

Constant shaming. All of her conversations with native Japanese people consisted of them attempting to make light of her weight. And that hurt, even after so many years. They saw her and were repulsed.

When she saw Kaori reading a book on dieting, her stomach turned.

It was an insidious thing, what she saw.

She was almost sure she saw something grey and translucent hovering over the young lady's shoulder, but it quickly disappeared.

"What the hell…" The nurse whispered.

Kaori's eyes regained their normal clarity, and she looked up towards the older woman, who happened to be sitting in the corner in a chair they'd provided. The nurse was reading a book of her own, something by Janet...Evanovich?

Kaori didn't even know who that was.

" _Well I guess I have been acting oddly,"_ Kaori thought, straightening out her posture in bed, before responding in kind.

"Is something the matter?" Kaori's voice was crisp and clear through the decidedly warm summer air.

"Nothing, aside from the book that you're reading. Dieting at your weight isn't healthy. Read something else, and put my conscience to rest. Please," the nurse asked, her concern showing.

Kaori looked uncomfortable. She closed the book, and put it back inside her nightstand.

As she laid back onto her side, turning her back to the nurse, the tears started.

The nurse decided to not pry.

" _I should say something to the fianceé, if anything."_

The nurse, in the end, felt guilty. For not doing enough.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei was just getting out of the bath. Toweling himself off, he heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it," he declared.

"The only other person in this house who can stand reliably." The nurse called back through the door.

"Can you wait five minutes? I need to get dry and dress myself for the evening."

Kousei started to dress himself with the clothes he'd brought into the bathroom.

"Yes. That'll be fine."

aaaaaAaaaaa

The allotted amount of time later, Kousei emerged from the bathroom, clad in plaid pajamas, colored green and yellow.

She confronted him, her scrubs boring in comparison to his glaring colors.

"Your fianceé is starving herself. With the expertise of a professional, if I might add." The nurse's face was done up in a frown.

"..." he had nothing to say.

She walked away, refusing to say anything more.

She thought she'd done enough. She was wrong.

aaaaaAaaaaa

When the nurse retired to the guest room, Kousei joined his partner in bed. She was, for once, violently conscious.

Violently, because she was having a migraine. The very worst she'd ever had.

She was shivering and grabbing her head.

Her retching was heard all around the house.

Unfortunately, the nurse slept with earplugs in to cope with her own sleeping difficulties.

When he tried to touch her, her eyes snapped open, glowing grey and illuminating the room. He was suddenly off the bed, a gust of wind having moved him in an instant.

He was lucky he didn't become part of the wall.

Her hair was unnaturally aloft in the air, and a light breeze was floating about her and moving things all around the room.

She was also levitating slightly, if only by a few centimetres.

Kousei stood to face her directly, his head cocked to the side slightly.

He towered over her by far from where she floated over the bed. She was like a rabid animal protecting itself when she snarled at him.

"Try and touch me again and _I'll take your fucking head off."_

Kousei was taken aback. Feeling her through their connection, he didn't know what hit him until it was too late.

At first, it was a slight gnawing he felt. And then he tapped into her mind by force.

And then it was like the floor was snatched from beneath him.

He fell, before liquid intensity surrounded him.

At first, he didn't know what he was feeling.

And then their connection opened up fully, with her finally feeling his presence.

He knew, then, what this was.

It was a sea of pain miles deep and wide within the confines of her mind.

She was at the very bottom, being crushed.

This was a physical representation of the pain she was feeling.

This was a post-traumatic headache. The nurse had explained this to him only once.

"Kousei-san, the danger in a post-traumatic headache is that it can, in severe cases, damage the mental state of the emotionally unstable. There is no cure, and unless you want her on a constant morphine drip that's at an absurdly high dosage, you can't defend her against them."

Kousei did the one thing an overly-protective idiot would do.

He dove right in.

aaaaaAaaaaa

He was continuously being burned, shocked, and frozen solid.

The deeper he got into the lake, the thicker it became and it became so difficult to move that eventually, after the first mile of diving, he came to a stand-still.

No amount of mental willpower would let him into the deepest parts of Kaori's mind. It was a door that only the individual held a key to.

If he clawed his way inside, he would be bombarded with every thought she'd ever had. Even the ones she'd forgotten.

He would, in a way, know every single thing about her.

He would be betraying her trust at the deepest level. Kousei would know every piece of star-dust that comprised her soul. And more.

One last time, he tried to move. He twitched a muscle in his neck, and he fell still again.

" _I can't do this,"_ he thought, " _and when this backfires, something is going to break. I can feel it. Everything is so strained. Everything. It's like the universe we exist in is stretching to accommodate our impossibilities."_

In a place where everything was stretched out and about to rip, Kousei went limp. He gave in.

He floated there, in a hell that had been created by chance.

Just as he thought he could bear it no longer, he had one thought. Just one. It came to him like a murmuring from a long lost dream.

It came to him like a whisper of a reflection.

" _ **The Moon."**_

And then everything broke loose.

aaaaaAaaaaa

He could see everything, all at once.

The strings of anger, woven together by Fate herself, had Kaori entangled in their depths.

It was like layers upon layers of shockingly painful fabric.

A mesh of agony.

But the fabric was reality.

He waved his hand parallel to all of the strands, and he cut right through.

With the same motion, he touched her face, his soft blue aura shining through her eyelids.

Their breathing synchronized, and everything slowed down around them.

And as all faded into the brightest white, it was like looking at the moon.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei's body was floating.

He had withdrawn into the lotus position, and the aura around him was not dissimilar to blue vines creeping across his skin. Occasionally, Kaori could feel a slight breeze.

Her head was blissfully calm.

There was nothing there. No agony. No anger.

Just...peace.

His eyes slowly opened.

"Isn't the moon beautiful tonight?" He whispered into the empty space between them, the vines of his aura framing the moon in the window behind him.

Kousei floated slowly towards the floor, where he fell into a decidedly deep sleep.


	44. The Moon

Scars in the Mirror: Chapter 44

The Sky: Chapter 3

The Moon

After Kousei collapsed, Kaori, though drained, was able to stand and get to him.

Pressing two fingers to his carotid artery, she determined that while it was weaker than usual, his pulse was still there.

She tried many times to lift him, just trying to get back to bed. Kaori was convinced that if they just slept everything off, all would be okay.

She couldn't even move him the slightest bit.

Eventually, she had to concede.

She slackened her grip. And then with something that can only be described as a second wind, she felt her connection to him strengthen.

She forced him to wake up. With all of her willpower having been put into snapping him back to consciousness, her own exhaustion became apparent.

Her grey and blue flannel pajamas suddenly got very warm.

"Oh fuck," she said, as the palpitations started.

She heard every single heartbeat as the sounds ripped through her ears.

"Kaori? Hon?" he said as the shaking that had begun worsened.

It almost looked like she was...seizing.

But that couldn't be.

" _There's nothing wrong with her mind or brain."_

He felt through their connection, and there was nothing there to feel. It was normal.

She wasn't seizing. She was having a heart attack.

aaaaaAaaaaa

He rode in the ambulance with her, and the EMT's explained to him that her pacemaker's batteries had failed.

Her heart just happened to start going into acute heart failure right as the batteries died.

After all, that was what it showed on her smart-phone alert system, which connected right to her newer pacemaker.

As Kousei perused his partner's phone, he found numerous alerts, some days old, warning his partner to get the batteries replaced.

He found several, far more disturbing things.

Hundreds, no, thousands of documents. On the science of weight-loss. Some dating back to... 2015.

" _But that's more than five years ago. She wasn't looking into this stuff then, was she?"_ Kousei was shocked and confused.

And then he heard an even worse sound.

Right next to him.

She was flatlining.

A shiver fluttered across his body, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Kousei started to tear up as he turned around to face her dying visage.

And then he remembered.

"I did this once. I can do it again." he spoke, surprising everyone else.

"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to back up." The young male EMT said as he applied the gel.

" **Clear!"**

Kousei sunk into himself, finding peace even inside this heinous calamity. He grasped his powers for the second time.

" _ **The Moon."**_

The next thing the medical personnel knew, the patient wasn't flatlining anymore.

What was weirder for them was being pinned to the inner walls of the ambulance by invisible vines.

The young man they'd picked up with the young woman, presumably her fianceé, was shaking, his skin tinted slightly blue.

The color in his skin quickly faded, and all of the EMT's dropped down to the floor.

"She should...be fine. Don't let...her die. Peace. Out."

And with that, Kousei Arima was out like a light, slumping to the floor.

aaaaaAaaaaa

When Kousei had activated his powers for the second time, he noticed everything around him slowing down to an impossibly sluggish extent.

The vines around him, coming from his body.

They seemed to be absorbing the time from the world around him.

They soothed the very fabric of existence. When he turned his attention to Kaori, he reached into her chest, grasping her heart solidly.

It had not yet grown too large for her to be saved.

Kousei settled into the lotus position as he started to levitate. Despite his obvious desperation to help his partner, he wasn't afraid.

He wasn't even worried.

He would make it alright.

Feeling the batteries inside the pacemaker, the strings the batteries were made of were suddenly abuzz with energy, constantly vibrating.

One of the EMT's was getting annoying. He decided to move all of them at once. With a slight thought, they were all slammed into the various walls.

The problem with her heart still unresolved, Kousei thought back to anatomy class and how a heart should ideally look.

When that didn't help, he shook his head.

He put his hand on her heart, and made it young again.

He used his vines to absorb the time out of it.

He healed her. For good, it seemed. And then he started to hear his own heartbeat, and the powers of _**The Moon**_ dropped, and he was so drained he could barely speak.

aaaaaAaaaaa

They both woke up in the hospital. Again.

But they had been separated. Kousei had been deemed a low priority, and Kaori obviously needed the batteries in her pacemaker replaced.

The operating theatre was full of personnel.

The cardiovascular surgeon that opened her up was confused when he noticed that not only was her heart in perfect shape, her pacemaker indicated that it was in full working capacity.

"Remove the pacemaker and close her up. She doesn't need it, oddly enough. A true medical miracle."

The head of surgery, who was on standby, noted that her charts indicated previous cardiovascular trauma, coming from early childhood onward.

But none of that was present now.

"Are you sure we have the correct patient? It is highly unlikely that years of cardiovascular trauma would just disappear." He was, however, just double-checking.

"Yes. She was identified by her fianceé as one Kaori Miyazono. He fainted from the stress in the ambulance? Remember? The staff laid him down in the waiting room?"

"Ah."

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei woke up with a pounding headache and a grizzly attitude. He gathered that he was in the waiting room of a hospital.

It was empty, aside from him.

He felt his pockets. Phone? There. Wallet? There.

"Excellent. Now where is…" he realized that he was in a hospital.

Kaori. It was returning to him. The memory of the ambulance ride.

Feeling into their connection, he surmised that she was fine, if thoroughly unconscious.

He got up, propping himself up into a chair.

The door to the surgical ward opening, he sat up a little straighter.

A younger man, likely a surgical resident, had come to inform him of something.

It had to be him, because checking his watch, it was eleven pm and the surgical ward's waiting room was empty, aside from Kousei.

"Her heart is in perfect condition. Are you sure the person we opened up is Miyazono Kaori? Her medical records indicated severe cardiac scarring stemming from early childhood." The young man was clearly confused.

"Yes. She's just on an experimental drug that the public isn't privy to," Kousei said, lying through his teeth, "and apparently it's working."

Internally, Kousei was jumping for joy. He'd restored her lifespan. The scarring inside and outside of her heart was the major problem with her health.

"Aside from that, she appears to be severely malnourished. Are you, as her partner, preventing her from eating? If so, I would be forced to detain you myself," the resident declared. He stared Kousei down.

Kousei stood, towering over the resident.

"No. I am aware of her problem, and her and I have been working on it," Kousei half-shouted at him.

Scurrying away, the resident reported the news to his superiors.

"Some wonder drug, for sure."

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kaori was forced to stay overnight for observation.

Initially, they both slept decently. Normally, when one of them woke up, the other would as well. Tonight was different.

Kousei felt something pass him while in the midst of one of his dreams. He was facing down a slumbering lovecraftian horror.

Miles from the shore of Oahu, Kousei was in the lotus position at the bottom of the seafloor, gazing at the mountain of blue and white scales.

It was a serpent large enough to swallow islands whole. He was only a tenth of the size of one of its gargantuan scales.

And there had to be millions of scales on this creature.

Its coils were wrapped around the entire island of Oahu several times.

"What are you? What do you represent?" And even as he said it, it was like someone was walking right by him.

He was too focused on the dream, however, and about an hour later, he awoke to chaos.

Kaori was gone.


	45. Finalities, and Going Home

**Before anyone continues reading, this chapter has henceforth warned you fairly about the traumatic events within.**

 **Not for the faint of heart. I'm not going to spoil what happens, but just assume it's your specific trigger and stop reading if you're triggered easily. Though if you're here and have read the rest of it, I'm going to assume you aren't bothered by much anyway.**

 **Kenz and I wish you all a good time, and please, do read on.**

Scars in the Mirror: Chapter 45

The Sky: Chapter 4

Chapter 45: Finalities, and Going Home

There were only twenty people on the Sendai Train station at 5:00 AM. Two of them were an overly-curious boy and his mother, who was taking him to see his father in Tokyo.

The boy excitedly waited for the train after his mother bought their tickets.

His mother was a stern divorcee, but she agreed to let his father see him twice a month, providing he made his alimony payments on time.

She was a Japanese native, but he was not, and as such her parents had looked down on their relationship, and they had severed ties four years after they tied the knot.

He had been the one that taught her the English language.

As the train approached, the two of them felt a chill down their spine, a cold gust of wind passing cleanly around their bodies.

The boy flinched and clung to his mother.

His mother turned to see a young woman enter the platform. Graceful, sleek, and elegant.

The young lady's pale hair hung around her shoulders, and she wore an oversized sweater and high-waisted jeans.

But what was odd was how her clothes fell on her body. Or perhaps, didn't fall.

" _She has to weigh forty some-odd kilos ...how odd."_

Her lack of weight aside, she noticed nothing odd about the young lady.

She didn't notice how much colder it got when she arrived in the platform. She didn't notice that there shouldn't have been a gust of wind in an inside space.

She left Kaori alone.

And Kaori was alone. Very alone.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The train ride was largely uneventful. Kaori found herself missing Kousei, but she knew better.

" _Don't think about him right now. This is for you, and no one else but you. Even if it's the most selfish you'll ever be."_ And she was right, she was being selfish.

As she fell asleep, she thought back to a time where she'd been more selfless:

A dark forest in Montana beckoned to the five of them. A man's house lay about a mile in.

Kousei and Eric were assigned to go in with Tucker.

Tucker spoke up:

"The girls shouldn't have to see what's about to happen in there. You two should come with me, and they'll operate the car's radar, to make sure he doesn't escape. You girls still remember how it works?"

They both nodded, switching the car's backseat area into "command center" mode.

Two computer monitors folded out from under the floor as two panels slid back.

Violet pushed her hair back into a ponytail, using the last hair-tie she had on her.

Kaori just shoved the headphones on.

That day, they'd prevented the man from escaping, alerting the three men that he was on the move before they even noticed he was gone.

They'd saved the lives of countless children that he would have abused in the future.

And that still made Kaori feel good about herself. But something still felt off, even in this world of dreams.

It was leaking in. The cold darkness was there, just outside the soft membrane of her dream.

It was like it was asking to be brought in, like a stranger knocking at the door of her reality.

And then Kaori woke up, and again understood why being asleep was so much better than being awake.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The train ride was at an end, and Kaori was cold and awake.

Despite the risen sun starting to bear down on everything, she was cold, and in the dark.

It didn't seem like Death. It was something crueler, and older. It was fear.

Every time she woke up, she was reminded by this little voice in her head that told her that she wasn't good enough.

She sometimes overcame the urge to not eat. But only on occasion. When Kaori Miyazono did eat, it was the exception, not the rule.

The last time she'd had a period was in Denmark, and ever since then, her menstruation had ceased entirely.

It made her feel like less of a woman. She hadn't been able to look in the mirror and be...happy...in a long time.

And as she walked down the alleyway to her family's bakery, she didn't know what she was going to tell her parents.

" _What could I say that would make this any easier on them?"_

aaaaaAaaaaa

When Mr. Miyazono saw his daughter walk up to the door, he dropped the cake he'd been carrying out to the display case.

It landed on a chair in a rather precarious position. However, it was still intact

"Darling," he shouted to the back room, "we have company!"

"We do?" she shouted back, sticking her head out the door that lead to the kitchen.

Her eyes made eye contact with her daughter's as her husband centered the cake on the chair.

Mrs. Miyazono frowned. Something wasn't right. Her daughter was dressed poorly for travel, and her face was…skeletal.

She shoved past her husband, pulling her daughter into a fierce hug. She felt only skin and bone underneath the sweater. Her eyes widened, as she held her daughter even tighter.

"My baby girl...what has happened to you?"

aaaaaAaaaaa

Her parents quickly brought out a tray of sweets, and her father immediately demanded she started eating.

He was, in the meantime, writing something down on a small piece of paper. He quickly finished the note, and folded it neatly. He put it in his apron pocket.

"Eat. Now. Has that boy been starving you?"

"Yoshiyuki!" her mother yelled at him, scandalized.

"Well Ryouko, one of us had to say it!"

They started yelling, and there was real anger coming from her father, for once.

Her mother backed down. That was her role, after all.

"Please. The two of you need to listen to me! Kousei is the only one that is helping me get over...this. Don't put the blame on him for how I am. Please, just this once, let me be selfish."

Kaori said, out of breath and exhausted by her own outburst.

"What do you mean," her mother asked, "you are your own person now, honey. Anything you need to do has our full support. Right, **my love?** " she said, stomping on her husband's foot, signaling for him to support her point.

"...y-yes. Kaori, your mother and I love you. So much," he said, holding his wife's hand delicately, "and what you want, we want. No children before twenty-five, though," he said, a smile brimming on his face.

"I know. That's what you've always told me. Now. Please don't tell Kousei I was here, but I have to get going. I invited an old friend to lunch with me," she said as she got up from her chair.

Her father approached her first.

"You're leaving? And so soon?"

She nodded.

"Well, come here so we can say goodbye."

Kaori smiled, then. " _Goodbye, indeed."_

She leapt into her father's arms. She held him for a long time.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, my sweet little girl."

He gave her something, slipping it into her pocket. It felt like a piece of paper.

"Well what am I, chopped liver?" Her mother asked, grinning from ear to ear and chuckling.

Her father let go, and she was drawn into the warm embrace of her mother. The woman she had always trusted. The way that Kaori was deceiving her would hurt her for a long time.

"Not at all, Mommy. I miss you two a lot, actually. Sometimes, I can't stop crying until I call one of you. I love you both so much."

The two of them stayed that way for a moment.

And then they broke apart, and Kaori walked out after gathering her duffle bag.

She opened the door, and whispered to the wind; "Goodbye."

aaaaaAaaaaa

She arrived at an old schoolyard. A place of fond memories.

She hadn't invited an old friend to lunch. But she knew where an old friend might be.

As she strolled up beside the bushes near their old junior high, she smiled. Her mind was made up, and everything was a lot clearer, now.

And that old friend would be easy enough to find around here.

" _After all, Tsubaki does teach athletics here now. It sorts her. I could never do what she does,"_ Kaori thought, turning and walking into the school's front parking lot.

The secretary was still there from when they were children. She recognized Kaori.

"I was wondering when you'd return home, young one. It has been too many years, Kaori. I presume you are here to see Ms. Sawabe?"

Kaori smiled the fullest smile she had in a while.

"Yes. And thank you," she said, tearing up, "it has indeed been too long."

Taking her visitor's pass and the map from the secretary, she located a Ms. Sawabe's classroom and was on her way.

aaaaaAaaaaa

She came through the door while her old friend was in the middle of a sentence.

"...so to be sure, always wear a-"

And Kaori closed the door behind her.

"Hello."

"Class, ten minute recession. I have a visitor, as you all can see."

They both left the room.

"Kaori? Are you alright? You look sickly," Tsubaki said, worried and concerned.

Kaori let out a laugh that sounded plenty healthier than what she looked before responding.

"Thank you for that, Tsubaki-chan. I haven't had a laugh like that for a long time. And it's good to see you, old friend."

She hugged Tsubaki, and she started crying.

"Tsubaki. Listen to me. Please. Be there for Kousei. Can you do that for me?"

Tsubaki felt a chill in the air as Kaori's irises faded to a soft grey color.

"Of course. I would do anything for you two. You know that. The fact that we haven't spoken in weeks is annoying, though. You two need to figure out how to not be strangers." She didn't hear Kaori crying over her shoulder, and she didn't see Kaori wiping her tears away, so she couldn't see them.

"Thank you. Please, look after him if I…"

Kaori suddenly pulled away and ran off.

" _If you...what?"_ Tsubaki Sawabe thought.

aaaaaAaaaaa

She wouldn't figure it out. No one Kaori visited that day would in time.

The Origin was saddened that he had to let this happen. Consoling Markus, who sat at the table with him, he said; "This is always the hardest time for them. It always was. But this is necessary."

"Why is it necessary?"

"They would both die alone if this didn't happen."

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei was in a dervish, searching everywhere in Tokyo, where Kaori was last sighted by an old friend. Tsubaki had called him mid-afternoon after she'd gotten off of work.

"She told me to look after you, whatever that meant."

That had been enough to get him on a train to Tokyo.

It was going to get dark soon, and as Kousei rode the rental bike up and down the alleys of their hometown, he felt a sinking feeling. He couldn't even sense her thoughts. She was there, but blocking everything from him. She'd already been masking her location, but everything?

There had to be something wrong.

aaaaaAaaaaa

As the Arabesque in C by Robert Schumann started to play over the speakers in the bathroom, Kaori drew herself a bath, undressing. She made sure the water was perfect.

Not cool enough that it would eventually become uncomfortable, but just hot enough to make her skin tingle with a mild sharpness. She chose a scent that she didn't use often, pouring the fragrant oil into the bathwater. The smell of lavender filled the room.

She had decided that it was for the best that she went to the bathroom back at the train station.

She had made herself a small cup of black tea, plain. No sugar, no milk. She didn't end up drinking any of it.

The mirrors started to fog up.

She breathed in and out.

In, and out.

Kaori Miyazono was finally at peace with something.

She slipped into the water, soothing her body as best she could.

She let the music carry herself away, for just a few minutes.

The happiness she'd once had with Kousei was presented to her equally along with everything she despised about herself.

She was at ease, remembering how happy he'd been after her surgery.

He had been joyous, and his eyes had been full of tears.

" _How I wish I could hear that 'I love you' one last time,"_ she thought.

She saw herself, becoming less and less beautiful, until she finally became who she was now. Someone that didn't deserve to exist.

The final strain of the Arabesque began.

She let the stopper out of the tub.

The main theme trembled to an end, returning to the tonic, returning home in perfect harmony.

She was ready.

She dried herself off, and put on the nightgown she'd been given by her mother on her twentieth birthday. It was soft, and comfortable.

It's lace comforted her skin, as she moved to the supply closet to grab just one thing.

She returned to the main hallway and placed the item on the ground, it spooling in the way a thick cord would.

She then retrieved a small footstool from the kitchen. Kousei had made it himself, from some pine he'd found when they had visited Hokkaido.

"Such happiness, and here I am...drowning in this sea of nothing."

She turned on the light inside the front closet, where one of the house's main structural beams was exposed.

She had to think hard about the knot, and she tugged on it pretty hard.

She placed the stool inside the closet after removing everything from it.

All of their coats and shoes now laid out in the front hallway. She ripped out the storage grates and the bar they hung their jackets on, throwing them into the hallway.

She looped the rope around the beam, and tied it off.

Standing on the stool, Kaori Miyazono was at complete peace with herself.

She put the noose around her neck, tightening it as much as she dared.

"I'm sorry, Kousei," she said, opening up the connection.

And she kicked the stool out from underneath her.

Kaori felt herself starting to fall, the roughness of the rope around her neck. Everything started to slow down.

She felt a tug on the front of her neck, and a sharp pain just barely touched the back of her neck.

And then everything went dark.

If there had been anyone else in the house with her, they would have heard a light snapping sound.


	46. Fury

Scars in the Mirror: Chapter 46

The Sky: Chapter 5

Chapter 46: Fury

The dark alley near his childhood home was where Kousei found himself.

It was an odd place, full of many different memories of his.

He'd raced around Tokyo for hours, vainly attempting to locate his fianceé.

She had appeared on several cafe's surveillance cameras, but that hasn't lead to any solid leads. The police force was already concentrated somewhere else, with half of the people in Kyoto rioting over worsening smog and pollution issues.

He'd been racing around on his rental bike for hours, searching their hometown, apparently in vain.

He had eventually returned the rental bike out of shame. She was somewhere, alone, and probably afraid.

His fault. He'd been too absorbed in his own dreams to notice her leaving.

Somewhere deep inside his mind, Kousei knew that everything about what was happening was profoundly wrong.

It didn't feel like Kaori was even nearby.

"It feels like she's closer to home than anything. What is going on?"

As he walked through the dark and damp walkway behind his childhood home, he felt slight tinges of something darker.

Something more profound than he'd ever dealt with. He was counting steps as he moved along.

The bile rose in his throat. Something deep inside him knew Kaori was in danger. His side of the connection shivered, almost like it was expecting something.

"It's like staring into a very deep hole. A place I'll never escape from."

And then he felt it.

She opened the connection again, and he felt a sudden pain in his neck.

He fell to the ground, suddenly unable to move.

There was something that sounded like a snap in the back of his mind.

"Oh…" he said, his face against the asphalt, "no…"

The pupils in his eyes expanded, as he fell into himself. He was about to die, too. That was what it felt like. His heart was fluttering painfully.

The taste of bile left him as he receded inside his own mind, rejecting reality.

His own sense of reality was cracking at the edges.

"Kaori," he said, as the thread he saw in front of him shattered into multi-colored stardust.

His heart, even though he could barely feel it, was starting to beat faster.

It was like she...was leaving.

And then he snapped back to reality.

He heard all of the sounds of the night, as their soulless magic attempted to soothe his broken soul.

They were calling to him.

The harsh light of the sunset, the soft shadows behind his old home, and the nearly-silent movements of all of the insects around him.

They called to him, saying "hush, child."

From where their connection once was on his heart, cracks had formed, and as he became more and more aware of what had happened, the break in his soul became wider.

He fell to his knees. His body started to sweat.

" _She's...dead."_

A gust of wind parted the air around him briefly, before dissipating. Kousei was about to lose control.

The clouds above him parted.

Time slowly crawled to a halt, as everything around Kousei started to glow blue.

His heart fluttered as he finally understood his own thought.

He exhaled, and he was at peace, completely at peace, for just a moment.

And then the shell holding it all in broke. Everything came loose.

And half of the city of Tokyo disappeared in a flash of macabre blue light.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei felt everything fading into nothing around him. The screams of so many innocents were stifled in an instant, their bodies torn to ashes by the blue fire that spared no one.

The city of Tokyo crumbled to the ground, and melted into a slurry.

Kousei didn't care. Consumed by his own fury, he felt nothing otherwise.

He was no longer touching the ground, as he floated where the ground once was.

He felt nothing but apathy towards everyone that had evaporated. Floating above the 80 kilometer-wide crater, he looked down with impunity with his light blue eyes.

His wings, if you could call them that, were made of vines. A soft blue aura raged around him.

The air around his head smelled of ozone, which was what his halo was made of. Sparking ozone.

He knew where she was now.

"You returned home. You foolish woman." He said, smiling at her **stupid** sentimentality.

The anger in his eyes grew, before the aura around him exploded, and he shouted into the raging flames of his creation. No one would ever know what he said.

He felt the light of the moon on his back.

It was full, and everything seemed to fall into place because of it.

Time stopped once more.

He felt his body move without facilitating it.

He passed through the space in between the two of them.

aaaaaAaaaaa

When Kousei gently touched down on their porch, he didn't expect the door to be unlocked.

It was.

Of course it was.

She meant for him to find her.

And he opened the door, and everything faded away aside from his anger.

He stepped inside, closing the front door behind him. He didn't quite get it the whole way closed, but he didn't mind, as he moved forward.

He stepped over to the hallway switch, turning on all of the lights.

The shiver down his spine almost made him vomit as he realized what he was seeing.

He saw her leg in the closet. Its door was ajar, allowing him to see the footstool he'd made her on its side.

She was softly swaying back and forth, back and forth.

Back and forth.

The rope holding up her body occasionally creaked, making him flinch.

She had hung herself.

"Oh," he said, starting to tear up.

He didn't know what to do, as he fell to his knees, broken. His angel form threatened to weaken and fade, but he held onto it.

He wouldn't be able to do anything at all if he lost control now.

He thought back to Hawaii. " _Eric, or at least his body, was able to predict the future. My powers are the opposite of his. Maybe…"_

A slight breeze pulled the front door back open, and light filtered in.

Moonlight.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The Origin spoke quietly at the table in Paradise.

"You don't understand, Markus. His powers are tied to the moon. And when the moon is full, you'd better bet there's something extra waiting for him."

aaaaaAaaaaa

Turning away from her body, Kousei spoke.

" _ **The Moon."**_

His soft blue aura slowly shifted to a grey one as his anger faded away.

His hair stood on end, and turned light grey.

His wings and halo faded, and were absorbed into his body.

His aura gained the smell of ozone as it started to crackle.

The vines that previously made up his wings wrapped themselves around his arms and legs.

He'd tapped into the same power Eric had in Hawaii.

The Origin State, which was now currently sapping energy from his own soul, and drawing on his connection to _**The Moon**_.

This was going to be his only chance. He had mere seconds before he dropped out of this form, and it would be a hard descent. He'd fall unconscious.

With sweat on his brow, as everything started to slow down, including him, he struggled to move.

He reached towards the ground. He only had a second or so left.

Everything started to concentrate into his right hand, which glowed so bright he couldn't see.

He shouted in agony, as everything stopped, and his fingers touched the ground. Everything started to move.

Backwards.


	47. Backwards

Scars in the Mirror: Chapter 47

The Sky: Chapter 6

Chapter 47: Backwards

Kousei's fingertips pressed into the ground, and everything around him seemed to blueshift, and swell in an illusory way. He was seeing double, as what he could see overlapped with what he hadn't been home to see.

An invisible force swirled around him, even as the gravity pressing him into the floor greatened. The pressure within his own body was intense, his muscles all tensed in awkward ways. Everything was cramping. An ephemeral pain, yes, but he was frozen in place, barely able to even move his eyes.

He saw one thing before he collapsed; Kaori walking backwards out of the closet with the stool he'd made her.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kaori looked forward into a blindingly dark void; she knew that she was no longer at home within her body. She was...somewhere else, and she didn't remember why she was somewhere else. The tears that flushed down her face seemed to have no purpose.

A soft crack echoed in the distance, and she felt a pull towards the center of her being.

Kaori remembered why she was there.

She was torn back through a space of dark, and through a tunnel of grey. Suddenly her neck exploded into a relentless storm of pain, and then...nothing. She saw and felt her hands remove the noose, as she moved backwards, turning off the closet light, putting the stool back where she had found it. Soon enough, she was putting back the rope, and the pull stopped.

Something snapped back into place. Their connection, though it was weakened and tentative, fed her his emotions at their basest levels once again.

Everything had moved...backwards.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei flinched to awareness from where he was on the floor of the front hallway. Drawing breath, his aura screamed back to life, the fury in the air palpable. The windows of the house exploded outward as he regained his angel form, floating back to a standing position.

Looking about and extending his senses out through their connection he could feel her, just around the corner, near the supply closet. He floated forward softly, feeling her take a shaky step forward. Towards him.

"Kaori," he spoke in a voice most unlike his own, "I know what you've done. Come." His eyes were soft, yet he was furious. Kaori, coming into view, understood, but at the same time...did not.

Kousei stood, skin, hair and eyes awash in sky-blue light. The viney wings flowed regally out of his back. He looked at her, but it was as though neither of them were even there.

Kaori shivered as she took another step forward.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The rising of the sun awoke something within Eric. It had ever since that day. The day when the void had stared him in the face.

The sweet Montana air rushed through the hills surrounding their modest cabin. Looking back from the porch into their kitchen, he saw his love. Loosening his grip on his aura, he did as he did every day.

Eric went and stood underneath the rising sun, and did as the World itself did. He felt the warmth seep into his body. Rising into the air, he assumed his angel form with a shout.

"RAH!" he screamed, his voice carrying for miles. He had long since analyzed even the smallest attributes of the transformation, along with its physical manifestation. The way his various muscle groups grew, expanded and subsequently shrank at his descendance from the form, the way his eye and hair color changed, and who could forget? The gold-colored wings and a halo of light completed the physical portion of the angel form itself.

Looking down at his hands, he flexed them, watching as the bolts of force passed between them. He felt well and truly satisfied. It had been quite a nice feeling to get used to.

The way the form attempted to artificially influence his actions towards moral perfection had been annoying at first, but now he reveled in the form's perfection and purity. It wasn't just a thing anymore. It was a place within his mind. A state of mind, where he could escape from his mortality and just exist.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Violet reflected somberly on their actions in Hawaii. They had been in the wrong, no matter how she tried to rationalize it. She had since moved on, as time had forced her to consider the sheer good they were doing now that their lives were better. They had stolen, and now gave away their free time volunteering at a food bank. They had maimed, and now nurtured the land, which was how Violet spent most of her days, toiling under the soft sunlight in their garden and planting trees to fill the surrounding landscape for the future. _Their future._

Their future, which was full of perfect sunsets, cook-outs, honest work, love... _children._ She still couldn't believe that they had found themselves such a perfect life, especially after such a hard road. As she straightened out her sundress, she put the kettle on top of their wood-burning stove, where Eric had used his strength to bend raw metal stock into a rudimentary burner.

She could feel it as he ascended into his angel form, the soft pressure he constantly exerted creating a false sense of increased gravity in the surrounding area.

"What a showboat," she whispered, brushing her hair out of her face annoyedly.

There seemed to be some hint of power within her, too, but it was far more faint, and to be frank, _peculiar_ than Eric's. It was connected to her emotions in an oddly specific way. She had to be completely at ease to access it, and it only really had uses for violence. In the deepest reaches of her mind, a roaring, blinding _star_ was growing. In her heart of hearts, she despised it; it was irredeemable.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kaori trembled as she felt Kousei's arms wrap around her neck tenderly. The soft, blue light that seemed to emanate from the center of his chest in waves brushed past her harmlessly.

"I'm disappointed in you." His words stung. "You've gone backwards, in more ways than one. You just risked so much. **HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH**!" He screamed at her, his aura blustering like a summer storm.

She just shrunk into herself, feeling the intense weight of her shame. In more ways than one, he was looking down at her. "I should have told you I was struggling," she cried into his chest.

Her chest-wracking sobs echoed throughout the hall. "I should have told you why I was losing weight! I should have trusted you...the anxiety was too much, love. I gave up."

aaaaaAaaaaa

The briskness of the air in Montana was really something different, and had done great things for Violet's lungs. Despite that, Eric always still managed to take her breath away, in one way or another. They sat for their lunch, as they always had, and always would. He was unusually quiet, which was never fortuitous for the occasion.

"Eric, love?" she asked timidly, as he sipped his tea, "are you alright? You're just a bit quieter than usual."

He put his mug down gently. The table he'd wrought out of the stone of the mountainside himself was one solid piece, indeed, as there wasn't even a whisper of a shiver as he braced himself on it and stood.

"I'm fine. Something….just feels off, I suppose."

Author's Note: NOT DEAD! I have been busy with work and a wonderful relationship (with my beta Kenz, no less) so I haven't been writing. But from summer my work before came, so it shall end the very same.

Plz don't kill me.

-Alexander, aka MeridianPine.


	48. Indifference

Scars in the Mirror: Chapter 48

The Sky: Chapter 7

Chapter 48: Indifference

Eric stood in the kitchen, all manner of goosebumps spreading about his body.

It was like 2 million tiny insects ceased to exist, somewhere very far away.

He flinched, and Violet didn't understand why. And then the miasma of death struck, almost like a wave of nothingness. They both had nothing to say, even knowing that something awful had happened, they couldn't bring their bodies to move. The grey tinge and pressure in the air...it was suffocating them.

For several minutes, they were silent, and did not even seem to draw breath. A strange sort of understanding was felt through their connection. They had both come to the same conclusion. Many, many people had just perished, no, vanished. Eric could almost feel something, from somewhere far off…

Fury; or was it indifference?

It felt oddly familiar, like an old friend.

Eric suddenly found himself able to speak, for just one, lonely second.

And then everything moved...backwards?

aaaaaAaaaaa

The darkness of night consumed their home as Kousei's transformation dropped him down, all the way human again. He reflexively let go of Kaori as his entire body lit up in pain, dropping him down to his knees.

Kaori could see that he was definitely in a lot of pain. But she couldn't feel it through their connection. Her eyes widened at the implications of the situation.

" _He's blocking me out to protect me,"_ the thought echoed through her mind. She stood there, useless. There was a flicker of something within herself. She couldn't bear to watch this, _couldn't it just stop…._

And just as suddenly as it had started, the pain stopped coursing through his veins, and Kousei fell to the floor, broken.

And Kaori fell, too. She somehow knew that it all would be okay. She still felt that flicker, even as deep inside the dark recesses of her mind it was. It felt...stronger than she'd ever been.

Before she knew it, she slammed into the floor, and passed out.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Eric hadn't felt this riled up in ages. Something had just messed with the natural order of the world, and he'd felt it as vividly as if they'd slammed a brick into the back of his head.

The heat behind his eyes let Violet know that he was about to get serious.

"We'll talk about this later. I need to go investigate." He said, stepping out onto the porch. He'd actually figured out how his powers worked. He drew his strength from the World itself, the Earth's flow of energy never being too far from his grasp.

Violet raised her hands in mock-defeat.

"Fine. But be safe."

She saw him turn his head to the side slightly, and smile grimly. "I won't be."

She scrunched her nose up in annoyance but accepted it all the same. Violet felt the heat of his transformation, his hair gaining the familiar golden hue, wings spreading out from his back.

Leaping off of the porch and into the air, he twisted around and blasted off. Violet was left in his dust, in more ways than one, as he disappeared into the air, just like he had taken to doing.

What she'd taken to doing when he was gone was meditating. The exercise in serenity helped to control the odd roaring in the darkest parts of her mind; the star would not consume her, not if she could help it.

She got herself changed into her athletic gear, and did some stretches out in their growing orchard. She had a feeling that this would take him longer than the routine grocery run.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Eric hadn't been able to re-access the Origin state with nearly as much ease as of late. It was annoying, but as he hurtled through the air at a ridiculous speed, it took most of his concentration just to keep moving forward whilst tracking the location of the anomaly. He didn't notice, then, when he entered the airspace above a restricted-access military operation.

Immediately, troops on the ground were granted permission to knock him out of the air, and as he moved out of the way of several projectiles, he noted the amount of shit he was now in.

Moving down to the ground, he casually knocked around anyone who came at him. While dodging all varieties of explosives.

"Can you stop firing at me? I'm getting a little tired of this, and I'll start fighting back soon if you don't stop." This comment only seemed to exacerbate the situation, and Eric started to calm himself in preparation for the perfect silence of the Origin State.

"I don't have time to fight you. Surrender…" he said, the not-so-unfamiliar light shrouding his body, "or die."

He was fired upon from all sides as he completed the transformation, with a soft pulse of energy starting to flow between him and the World. His eyes snapped open, and the casual nature of his movements meant his enemies would finally understand how out-matched they were.

He whispered. Two simple words. "The World." Walking through the perfect silence, he blurred around several heavy-duty rounds of mid-air ammunition. Reaching one of the heavier-set soldiers, one blow to the stomach seemed like it would do. He flashed around the corner as time restarted.

The soldiers got to see one of their own be violently wrenched in half by an unseen blow. Blood spattered the ground, the earth beneath the poor man's feet greedily soaking it up. Eric winced at the unintentional death he'd caused. " _Too much force, huh."_ His lapse in concentration dropped him from the Origin State, and he was quickly reminded of what he needed to do, immediately taking flight once more, and he quickly disappeared over the horizon, unnoticed.

aaaaaAaaaaa

It was well past midnight, and the moon was well-concealed by thundering clouds. A violent clap of thunder jolted Kaori awake, from where she'd collapsed bodily on top of her fiancee. Remembering what she'd done, and then not done...she rushed to the bathroom to vomit what little she had left in her nigh-empty stomach. She gripped the toilet with base desperation, nearly slamming the seat on her head, such was the force of her heaving.

The storm shook their house with an unexpected violence, and the clattering of their dishes brought her back to her senses.

She shook, her body exhausted, and she stumbled towards the shower, hoping to clean herself up. She was, perhaps, too aware of how she smelled, having gotten vomit on her shirt and in her hair.

Another shaky step brought her into their shower, where she didn't bother with taking off her clothes. She just turned on the hot water, and sat down. So weak, she didn't even have enough life left to cry.

She just stared at absolutely nothing, in a puddle of shame and disgust.

aaaaaAaaaaa

The first thing he knew was pain; a sore, dull, ugly thing twisting its way through his chest. Registering the fact that he even existed, Kousei attempted to sit up, looking into the darkness around him. A sharp, throbbing pain slashed its way up his spine, and he hit the ground, writhing in pain. Flipping himself over in forceful desperation, he cried out as his chest cracked, something popping internally. Blinking through the tears puddling in his eyes, he crawled, unable to stand for the ripping sensation raking its way up his legs. Kousei crawled, for he had one thing in mind. Kaori. His best-friend, his lover, his life. She was in pain, smothered by her own remorse. He could feel it every time he even so much as thought about their connection, and he was all the more determined for it.

"Don't...worry. I'm c-coming," he whispered weightily, his breath hitching. He continued onward, his energy slowly fading. He'd made it halfway up the stairs when the muscles in his arms failed, his head and chest ramming into the wedge-like surface. Struggling, he gripped the stair above his head with his last bit of ever-fading resolve. When he gripped the top step, he couldn't cry anymore, and as his second wind hit, his eye color changed.

aaaaaAaaaaa

His only companion was the wind, as he flew forward, onward. His guilt was pulling his state of mind to the morose, the man's death being repeated in his mind, over and over again. Thoughts of what he should have done differently were suffocating him. It was inescapable, the pull of the void.

He had taken a life. Tarnished something sacred about himself. As the air rushed past him, he became aware that he had left the land behind him, and all he could see had become the glare of the sun and the surrounding ocean. In fact, he'd left the land behind a while ago.

" _What sort of monster am I?"_ was all he could seem to think to himself, even as he hurtled forward through the air.

The determination in his grey eyes wavered.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Gardening never left her alone for hours at a time, at least. Violet found quiet solace in her spade and soil; no matter how much work she'd done already, there was always more earth to till, more to nurture, more to plant. Even when she'd spend the whole day alone, she was more than content to let it be so.

The sweat converging on her eyebrows, almost seeming to do it on purpose, was annoying.

Everything seemed to start to get on her nerves, as she stood from her work.

It was almost overwhelming. The screaming in the back of her mind had returned, and she felt herself start to get uncomfortably warm. Ozone scratched at her nose as lightning crackled off of her skin, raking at the ground. She felt something snap, deep within the confines of her consciousness, even as she tried to keep it in check.

Falling to her knees, Violet knew she was losing control as _something_ hot and all-consuming pushed its way through her mind.

Her efforts to bottle it up were in vain. She screamed; a strangled, violent sound emitting from her throat. The Star was reaching out towards the center of her being, brushing aside her connection with Eric. She felt it as it snapped, her eyes changing to grey.

And then she was drowning in light, not ready to be a conduit for such power. A pillar of light flashed from her body, fire filling her veins.

And then everything stopped. Her surroundings were charred; the dry, wispy remains of part of their orchard crumbling under its own weight. She stood in the center of a cracked, blackened crater.

The flame that danced from her frame ever-so-gracefully billowed with an ancient light. It contained a queer indifference to everything around it, burning all with impunity.

aaaaaAaaaaa

Kousei had rested for several minutes, and had eventually struggled to his feet. The storm had briefly settled, before returning with an all-too-familiar ferocity. His footing unstable, Kousei gripped the walls, trying to at least keep himself upright.

Pushing himself forward, he wrestled his way up the steps, exhausted in both mind and body. He had to keep forcing himself to keep going more than once, his body sore and inflamed. He heard the shower running from down the hall.

When he turned on the light, he fell to his knees, defeated.


End file.
